


weirdo

by Veron104_alterlove



Series: Skam France-works [8]
Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: Eliott POV, High School, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, eliott is a pan disaster, fight me, i still don’t know how to tag, little angst, lucas is a flirtatious little shit, lucas is a hip hop dancer, working at the rec center
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-03-09 01:24:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 45,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18906673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veron104_alterlove/pseuds/Veron104_alterlove
Summary: When Sofiane offers Eliott a job at the rec center, how could he possibly say no? He’ll get money, have fun with kids, and get a view of Lucas, a hip hop dancer who Eliott can’t take his eyes off of.The problem, is that Eliott is a pan disaster.OR a strangers-to friends- to lovers au





	1. when you were here before

To say that Eliott’s excited, would be an understatement. It would probably be the biggest understatement of the century. He finally got a job at the rec center, thanks to his best friend, Sofiane, and can make some good money. He was told to meet Sofiane at the rec center at 17:50, so he could know how to set up the parties the kids had and actually get to know some of the kids themselves. 

He decided to show up a bit early, not wanting to make a bad impression, obviously. It was his first job, after all, and he wasn’t going to risk anything and everything by being late. He went inside and waited downstairs, just wandering around, exploring what was down there, having forgotten due to not coming here in a year. 

There was music suddenly blaring through the speakers in the dance studio, and Eliott would’ve lied if he said he wasn’t even the littlest bit intrigued. And you can’t blame him, he’s naturally curious; always has and always will be. At first he thought it might’ve been Sofiane, since there was some time to kill before having to meet up. He walked closer to the studio and when he was near the entrance, popped his head inside. And-

Wow. Oh wow. 

Eliott couldn’t believe his eyes. The guy in the studio was amazing. He was dancing as if it would be the last time he got to do so. Dancing as if he would die if he didn’t continue. It was as if it was the only thing the guy wanted to do and it showed; Eliott was mesmerized. Completely and utterly mesmerized. 

Their movements flowed and connected throughout the piece. And even though it was hip hop, no move was done without delicacy. Eliott has never been as entranced as he was right now. He was breath taken; not even Sofiane’s dancing made him feel this way, and that was saying something. Eliott couldn’t even look away, and thank god the guy didn’t notice him, because it would sure be awkward if he stopped dancing anytime soon. Luckily, he didn’t; he just kept dancing his heart out and poured his soul out while doing so. At least, that’s what Eliott thought he was doing.

Eliott wanted to know the guy, needed to know more than his back half and his short height, since that was all Eliott could see from where he was standing. He needed to get closer, Eliott decided. So he took a step, and froze, not wanting to be caught. His view wasn’t a whole lot better, but he’d take what he could get. He could see his hair in much more detail. It reminded him of a lion’s mane; soft, perturbing, loud, and messy. It looked good on him though, and all Eliott wanted to do was run his fingers through it. He didn’t even know what time it was anymore, not really caring, preferring to watch the talented boy in front of him. He just hoped not too much time passed. 

Contrary to what Eliott hoped, time passed too fast apparently, because Eliott was being called by Sofiane. 

“Eli! Time to show you around and get you started,” he said, smiling like there’s no tomorrow. 

Eliott barely heard him, his ears too busy flooding with appreciation while still being stunned out of his mind by the boy dancing with such grace, finesse, and power all at once. How does one even do all that?

It took Sofiane walking towards him and waving an arm in front of Eliott to get him to snap out of the his trance and get his attention. 

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Eliott bit his lip, with flushed cheeks showing his embarrassment all over.

Sofiane chuckled and shook his head. “I said it’s time to show you around and get you started. Are you ready now?”

Eliott nodded and gave a timid smile. “I’m ready. Show me around then, Sof.”

They went back upstairs and started making their way to one of the rooms that was being set up for a birthday party the next day. They were walking in comfortable silence, the type of silence that doesn’t need to be broken. But after a minute, Sofiane broke it with a subject he knew would perk Eliott’s interest. 

“I can tell you got a bit distracted by one of our best dancers, Lucas.” Sofiane teased. “He’s good isn’t he?”

Huh. Lucas, Eliott thought. That name sounds pretty good. 

“He’s awesome, bro. I can’t even begin to put in into words. It’s like he’s caught up in his own world in there.”

“That’s because he is. For how good he is it’s scary to realize that he actually got into it pretty recently, only two years ago. A lot of shit’s gone down for him during that time, that’s not mine to say, but he uses dance as his escape, as do a lot of people. He comes here almost everyday and is a super cool guy.”

There was just something about Lucas, from the beginning, that made Eliott feel like he needed him to play a role in his life. And with this new information, Eliott wants nothing more than to get to know Lucas. Talk with him, tease him, share things with him, smoke with him, laugh with him, just about anything to be near his vicinity. 

“Does he go to our school?” Eliott wondered. 

“As a matter of fact, he does. He’s in second year though, so maybe that’s why you haven’t seen him before.”

Eliott nods and begins imagining what Lucas’ face looks like. He couldn’t see it before, and was more than anxious to see what it looked like. But for now, he needed to get settled in with his job, which was why he was in the rec center in the first place. 

•~•~•

His job doesn’t seem too difficult, and looked quite fun, actually. The kids he met were super sweet and energetic, which helped to calm down some of his nerves thinking that said the kids wouldn’t like him. 

He and Sofiane went back downstairs to grab some water, getting thirsty after chasing around the children, and sat down on the floor, backs against the wall. 

They were talking about everything and nothing, when Lucas walked out of the dance room. 

“Hey, Sofiane,” Lucas greeted. 

The boys hadn’t noticed him till then, and when Eliott looked up, he realized it was dumb to take a sip of water right then. It ended up getting spit out of his mouth when his eyes locked with Lucas’. He began choking. 

He didn’t see Sofiane standing up to get paper towels and Lucas walking towards him, hitting his back to help get some oxygen back in. He was entranced yet again by Lucas. Not by his dancing this time, but by his eyes. 

God, his eyes. 

They were blue, a blue you could only find in the deepest lengths of the ocean. They were beautiful and big, as if they were capable of devouring someone- devouring someone into another dimension, one filled with even more of that blue hue in his eyes. And Eliott wanted to be the one getting swallowed whole from them. They all in all, were the most gorgeous eyes he had ever seen. 

You see, Eliott has always been a very perceptive and observant person, and can see details almost no one else can see. He likes to use this tool whenever he can. And now was one of those moments. At first glance, Lucas’ eyes seemed to carry lightheartedness, fun, and happiness. But when Eliott ventured further, he could see them carry something else. Something hidden under layers and layers of that said lightness and happiness, almost as if trying to cover something up. As if he was wearing a mask for everyone to see. Maybe that’s what Sofiane meant when saying he’d been through a lot of shit. And from what Eliott could tell, maybe even more than everyone thought. 

Eliott decided that he wanted to see him without that mask, without those top layers, wanting only to see the real Lucas. The true Lucas whose eyes reflect how he really feels sometimes. He wants to be there for him in ways other people couldn’t because they couldn’t see it as clearly as Eliott could. 

But he was getting ahead of himself. He needed to stop choking first. 

After what seemed like an eternity, he snapped out of it and reentered the real world. He began to hear what Lucas was saying to him. 

“Hey. Breath in and out. Steady your breath.” Lucas said, still hitting his back. 

Sofiane came back with some paper towels and began to clean up the watery mess that Eliott made. 

Eliott followed Lucas’ instructions and after a few minutes, came back to normal. 

“Thanks, for uh- for helping me out I mean.” Eliott says. 

“No problem. It looked like you needed saving, so here I am, your Prince Charming coming to the rescue.” he teased. A light flush made its way to Eliott’s cheeks when he noticed that he had been staring at him for the past minute without saying anything. 

“Sorry,” Eliott started, blinking out of his daze, “It’s just that, wow. Your face is uh- Your eyes are- you just look really- wow. That’s all.” God, that was a terrible start. Was that even a sentence? 

Lucas raised his brow, confused, but eventually seemed to know what he meant, and chuckled, bringing his hand to rest above his chin. 

“So my face made you spit your water out… because you thought it was pretty? I’ll take that as a compliment, I guess.” Lucas smirked and Eliott’s face was suddenly as red as a tomato and hot all over. 

“Um I didn’t mean-“

“No take backs.”

“What?” Eliott was lost. 

“You can’t take back what you said. And besides, your face isn’t that bad either. It’s quite nice if you ask me.” Lucas winked, and flashed a toothy smile that made Eliott want to embarrass himself even more just to see it again. 

Lucas then proceeded to ask Sofiane if he needed any help cleaning the mess, and when Sofiane said he had it handled, Lucas took it upon himself to sit down on the floor, taking Sofiane’s spot. 

After a while, the shorter of the two spoke up. “I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Lucas. Lucas Lallemant.” He held out his hand, gesturing for Eliott to take it and shake it. 

“Um. Eliott. Demaury. Eliott Demaury. That’s me.” He let out a nervous chuckle and latched onto Lucas’ hand like a leech. He then began to shake it a bit too vigorously and continued that action for about fifteen seconds. 

“As much as I like a firm, solid handshake, I think you’re overdoing it a bit, dude.” Lucas laughed. Sofiane joined in on the laughter as well, watching their interaction from where he was, cleaning up the floor.

Eliott ducked his head down. “Sorry about that. You probably think that I’m weird now.”

“So?”

“I’ve probably freaked you out.”

“No you haven’t. Sure, but I like weird.” Lucas gave him a small grin.

“Really?” Eliott couldn’t believe his ears.

“Really, and you look quite cute with it. Besides, aren’t we all a little weird anyways? I know that I am.” His face faltered for a second, before regaining his grin. “And plus, do you think I’d be willing to share this with just anyone?” Lucas pulls out a joint and lighter from his bag. 

“I guess not.”

“See?” He lit it up, took a drag, and held it out for Eliott. “Here. Take a drag.”

He took the joint from Lucas and followed his orders. 

•~•~•

They sat in silence for a while, just passing the joint back and forth. It was far from awkward and Eliott couldn’t have been happier. He was smiling, feeling the haze affect the weed gave him. 

Sofiane was long gone by now, saying he had to go meet up with Imane. 

He sneaked a peak at Lucas, who had his head leaned back, against the wall. His eyes were closed and he looked relaxed. He looked like he finally got a break. While observing him, Eliott saw how apparent his dark circles were. How hadn’t he seen them before?

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud ringtone. Lucas snapped his eyes open, grabbed his phone, and looked panicked when he answered. 

“Hello? Why haven’t you answered me? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days. You can’t just go rogue like that, okay?” His mood quickly changed to angry. “No, I’m not going to ask how you are, I don’t fucking care! I’m about to be late this month and you haven’t-” He looked panicked again. “Hello?” He puts his phone up. “God fucking dammit.” He mutters. He runs a hand through his hair and takes a sharp breath. 

“You okay over there?” Eliott asks. 

“Uh, yes. Fine. Listen, sorry to leave you like this, but I have to go.”

“Oh, okay.” Eliott tried to hide the fact that he was a bit disappointed. It didn’t really work. 

Lucas’ face softened and he looked him in the eyes. “I usually come here everyday and stay in the studio room to dance. Stop by to say hi when you feel like it.”

Eliott smiled. “Okay, will do.”

“Good.” He paused. “Bye, weirdo.”

And with that, Lucas was gone. Eliott knew there was something going on, but didn’t want to push Lucas into telling him. It didn’t change the fact that he was still worried though. 

•~•~•

That night, Eliott dreamt of a certain blue eyed boy with crazy hair. A boy he didn’t know was dreaming about him too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> missing elu hours shhm


	2. couldn't look you in the eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eliott’s still a gay disaster and lucas tells him something he hasn’t really told anyone before

The first time Eliott saw and met Lucas was at the rec center on Friday. Since then, the boy with big blue eyes and crazy hair wouldn’t dare leave his head. It was now Sunday night, or Monday morning if you will. Eliott was drowning in French literature homework throughout the entire weekend, no thanks to his procrastination skills. He had the assignments assigned to him two weeks ago and he always put them off; saying that he would do them later, until he completely forgot about them. Why did he decide to be a literature student again? Thank god Sofiane reminded him Saturday morning. Eliott swears he would be an actual mess without Sofiane. What would he do without him?

 

Eliott finished all of his work at 00:21 and was absolutely exhausted. Why did teachers want to stress their students out by giving them stacks of homework to do? It was honestly pretty rude, if you asked Eliott. He put all his finished work in his green school bag and went straight to bed. At least, he tried to. He still couldn’t get Lucas Lallemant out of his head. All Eliott could do was replay his dancing over and over and over again inside his mind. He was incredibly skilled, without a doubt. Eliott wished he would’ve filmed it, but then wiped the thought out of his brain because that would’ve been weird. Like, really weird. ‘Ha, but Lucas likes weird,’ he thought. 

 

He decided to check the time, not knowing how long he’d been thinking about a certain beautiful, blue eyed boy. He opens his phone, immediately squinting his eyes due to the bright screen. The time read 03:18. Great, just another sleepless night for Eliott then. He unlocked his phone and went onto Instagram, having not been online in two days. After scrolling mindlessly through his feed for a bit, a question popped into his mind: does Lucas have an Instagram?

 

He went to the search bar almost instantly, and typed in, ‘Lucas Lallemant’. He clicked on the first account that appeared on his screen and muttered to himself, “bingo!” He couldn’t even stop the smile making its way onto his face if he wanted to. He decided to scroll through his pictures, seeing if it would clue Eliott in on anything more about him. All he saw though, were pictures with his friends, memes, pictures of girls he had no idea about, and some mentioning the Illuminati. He didn’t see any dancing videos though, and Eliott assumed he’d see some, considering dancing was something Lucas did basically everyday. Interesting, he thought, and continued to see (stalk) Lucas’ account. 

 

While looking through his posts, he stumbled on one that made his heart stop. 

It was one where Lucas was wearing a white shirt with ‘amour’ printed in red font, with what Eliott assumed was a puppy on his head.   
  


“Damn, he’s so cute!” He squealed, heart eyes popping out of his head. He just wanted to pinch Lucas’ cheeks until they turned tomato red and squeeze the living life out of him. Eliott wanted to run a hand through Lucas’ mess of soft, brown, beautiful hair as well. So Eliott, to say the least, was in awe. 

 

Before he could stop himself, however, his autopilot brain liked the picture. He liked the goddamn picture! Double tapped on it as if it was nothing. The realization hit him all too fast. “Shit!” He exclaimed. “No, no, no, this cannot be happening to me.”

 

He checked the date on the picture, hoping it wasn’t too far back. It was uploaded on March 12, 2018. He threw his face on his pillow. “Fucking hell! Why am I such an idiot?” He muffled into his pillow, blood rushing to his face. 

 

It took Eliott five minutes, yes, five minutes, until he chose to unlike Lucas’ post. He reasoned with himself that Lucas probably wouldn’t even notice. Nonetheless, he exited out of Lucas’ page, closed the app, and turned off his phone. Suddenly, exhaustion hit him at full force, and before he knew it, he fell asleep. 

 

………

 

Eliott woke up late Monday morning. He changed into the first pair of clothes that he could find, not wanting to waste more time. He debated on whether or not he should skip breakfast, deciding on, “fuck it”, grabbed his bag, and headed out the door. 

 

He barely made it to the bus stop on time, having to sprint inside before the doors shut closed. He found a seat in the back and sat down, putting some earbuds on. The ride to school was uneventful, it consisted of Eliott listening to his favorite dubstep playlist and leaning his head against the window. 

 

Once he makes it to the school’s courtyard, he sees Lucas surrounded by three other people, with one of them making obscure hand gestures. Lucas doesn’t look too interested in what they’re talking about, opting to stare at the floor below him instead. Unfortunately he must feel eyes burning holes into the side of his head, because he looks up and catches Eliott staring. At first he looks surprised, but then gives him an amused smirk and a wink to go with it. Eliott gives him a nod in return, turned to walk into the school, and as if he had two left feet, tripped himself and almost fell down, barely being able to regain control. He turned to Lucas one last time and saw him silently laughing, shaking his head at him. Before walking away and thinking about how on earth he managed to humiliate himself, he gave Lucas a timid smile. 

 

………

 

Everywhere Eliott looked, Lucas came into view. When he got out of class, He’d see Lucas walking into his next one. When he zoned out in class and stared out of the window in boredom, he’d see Lucas outside, on his phone, sitting on a bench. And when lunch time came around, Eliott wasn’t able to do anything except keep his eyes on him. Only him. His thoughts were interrupted by two trays clashing down on the table he was sitting at. He looked up to see Sofiane and Alex sitting down next to him. 

 

“Hey, guys,” Eliott greeted them, not even waiting a second before resuming to staring at Lucas. God, he was adorable. His hair looked extra ruffled today as well, almost like he constantly ran a hand through it, as if he were stressed. Why would he be stressed, though, he thought, and before his brain could overthink it, Sofiane spoke. 

 

“Hey, Eli,” Sofiane started, following Eliott’s line of vision. “Lucas, huh?’

 

“What about Lucas?” Alex asked, not knowing yet about what happened on Friday.

 

“Eli saw him at the rec center, and from what I can gather, he can’t get him out of his head.” Sofiane filled Alex in.

 

Eliott turned his head back around, done with his one way staring contest, looked down, and sighed heavily. “I fucked up. Big time.” 

 

“What do you mean? With Lucas?” Sofiane asked.

 

“Yup, because I’m so fucking stupid and can’t do anything right.” Eliott then slammed his fist down on the table, proceeding to do the same thing with his head.

 

“What did you do? I don’t think it can be that bad.” It was Alex that time.

 

Eliott mumbled something inaudible that neither of the two could hear or comprehend.

 

“You’ve got to lift your head up, buddy. We can’t understand shit about what you’re saying.”

 

Eliott lifted his head up, running a hand through his already messy hair. “Well, I couldn’t go to sleep last night after finishing a shit ton of homework. I literally could not get Lucas outta my head. I ended up on instagram at 3 AM and found his account. Because my curiosity got the best of me, I looked through his posts, and stopped on one I really liked. And then, my sleep deprived brain made the idiotic move to like it.”

 

The boys were silent, processing the information from Eliott’s rant, until Alex spoke up. “Ok, well, when was the picture posted? It might not be as bad if it was taken recently.”

 

“It was posted last year in March. I’m screwed, aren’t I?”

 

“Not necessarily, dude.” Sofiane said, confidently. “I talked to him a couple of weeks ago about some shit, I don’t remember much of, but I do remember him telling me that he keeps his social media notifications off, saying that he doesn’t really want to see unimportant stuff like that on his lock screen. So unless he was up at 3 in the morning, which I highly doubt, you don’t have to worry about anything.”

 

Eliott’s face flooded with relief after hearing what came out of Sofiane’s mouth. “Really, bro? You’re not fucking with me right now or anything?”

 

“Really. So trust me, you’re all good and have nothing to worry about.”

 

“Thanks, I really have no idea what I’d do without you.” Eliott said, and Sofiane smiled at the comment.

 

The three of them continued on with their lunch, conversing about Alex’s basketball game he had coming up this coming weekend, and Eliott only occasionally glanced at Lucas. He was glad that he wouldn’t have to explain that embarrassing situation to him, or so he thought.

 

………

 

It was now 18:04, and Eliott just finished his shift at the rec center. He clocked out and smiled to himself, thinking about how much fun he had with the kids. He made his way downstairs, knowing that Sofiane was down there, from their messages they exchanged earlier.

 

“Hey,” he said, after seeing Sofiane sitting in a chair on his phone. 

 

Sofiane looked up at Eliott and smiled, tucking his phone away into his pocket. “Hey! Guess what?”

 

Eliott shrugged, and Sofiane continued, “Lucas is here, in the studio at the end of the hall, if you couldn’t already tell by the music blaring coming from the room.”

 

“Okay, should I go see him?”

 

“Totally! I think he would love that.”

 

“Okay, I’m going.”

 

“Atta boy!” Sofiane encouraged him. “Go get ‘em tiger!”

 

Eliott chuckled and flipped him off, mouthing him a “fuck you!”

 

Sofiane laughed in response and shook his head. 

 

Eliott wasn’t sure if he was ready, but he went down to the studio room at the end of the hall anyways. Sofiane was right, that music was blaring, and if Eliott wasn’t used to listening to his own music this loud, his eardrums probably would’ve burst. 

 

He opened the door to the studio and even though he had seen Lucas dance before, was still taken by surprise. He was on his head, spinning in fucking circles. Eliott was blown away. A couple of seconds later, Lucas was dancing on his hands, controlling his body in ways Eliott thought was impossible. Lucas eventually made his way onto his feet again, doing footwork that Eliott couldn’t even begin to comprehend. 

 

Soon, the song began to die down, and Eliott decided that would be the best chance he’d get for making a good entrance. But like everything coming to Lucas, the universe thought that it would be funny to embarrass Eliott’s ass. This time, when Eliott tried to enter the room, he stubbed his toe on the door frame, and stubbed it fucking hard. It hurt like hell. 

 

He made an obscene noise and yelled out, “OW, FUCK ME!”

 

Lucas obviously heard it, because he turned off the music and ran over to a struggling Eliott, who was lying on the floor dramatically, with toes in hand trying to ease the pain. 

 

“Shit, man, are you okay? That looks like it hurts like a bitch.” Lucas said. 

 

“Yeah, it hurts like hell, no thanks to that door frame over there. Can you help me stand up, please?” Eliott asked, knowing he was probably just making a big deal out of stubbing his toe. 

 

“Um, yes, of course. Here.” He held out his hand and Eliott grabbed onto it, pulling himself up with Lucas’ help. He must’ve held on for it for too long once he was up and standing, because Lucas said, “You’ve got a thing with my hands, don’t you?”

 

“Um, sorry, I didn’t mean to- “

 

Eliott was cut off by Lucas. “I’m just messing with you, no need to explain your hand kink.”

 

“I don’t have a fucking hand kink!” Eliott exclaimed maybe a bit too loudly. 

 

“Sure…” Lucas trailed off. “Anyways, you must’ve missed me this weekend, huh?” Lucas teased. 

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean, stalking my account in the middle of the night is a little desperate, but what really got me was that you liked and disliked one of my posts in the span of five minutes.” Eliott’s face was beet red. “So, I guess I’m asking, why did you dislike it? Why didn’t you follow me while you were at it? Did you change your mind or something?”

 

“Um- I don’t- well, I- “ Eliott stuttered, and he saw that Lucas looked as amused as ever. He then remembered what Sofiane told him at lunch. “Wait, don't you have your Instagram notifications turned off?”

 

“Yeah?” Lucas looked a bit confused now, not really catching on. 

 

“Then how did you see that I liked your post?”

 

“I happened to be online and I saw a heart icon paper on my activity page. Intrigued, I clicked on the “srodulv” account, and I saw your name printed in the bio.”

 

Eliott would’ve been fine with this explanation, but he didn’t understand something. “Why were you up at three in the morning though?”

 

“I could ask you the same thing.” Lucas shot back, walking over to where his bag was in the corner of the room to retrieve some water. 

 

Eliott told Lucas the truth, well, more like semi-truth. “I was doing homework all weekend, and by the time I finished, it was already early Monday morning. For some reason, one that I can’t explain, I couldn’t fall asleep and hoped onto Instagram.”

 

Lucas gulped down some sips of water before answering, “And how do you know I wasn’t in the same situation?”

 

Eliott took no time to reply. “I mean, for all I know, you could be, but the bags under your eyes say otherwise. I’ve seen you with them on Friday, and no offense, but they look even darker today. So even if you say some lame, half assed excuse, I won’t believe you. By the looks of it, it seems as though you not getting sleep happens pretty often.”

 

Lucas was shocked and speechless when Eliott was done, his mouth agape at first, but then he shut it quickly. He didn’t say anything for a long while, looking at the floor, as if debating whether or not he should tell Eliott the truth. He opened his mouth to speak, his blue eyes staring into Eliott’s bluish-grey ones. 

 

“Wow. Congratulations, man.” Was all Lucas said. 

 

“On what?”

 

“For being the first one to stop taking my shit, for actually wanting to know the truth.”

 

Wait, what? This was not what Eliott expected at all. Eliott went up to where Lucas was standing. “I don’t understand. What are you saying?”

 

Lucas inhaled deeply, before responding. “You’re the only person that actually wants to know, that actually seems to care. My other friends will notice and say things like, ‘why do you look like shit?’ and ‘bro, are you okay, because you don’t look too good.’ And I always say the same thing back. That I’m fine, and I look like shit because that’s what sleeping on a couch will do to you.”

 

“You sleep on the couch?” Eliott blurted out before he could stop himself. 

 

“Yeah, I do. And before you ask, that’s a story for another time.”

 

Eliott nodded and went back to their previous topic of conversation. “So, are you going to tell me why you were up so late?”

 

Lucas cleared his throat and sank down to the floor. Eliott did the same, sitting next to Lucas when he began to speak. “I, uh, have insomnia.”

 

“Insom-what now?” Eliott’s never heard of it before. 

 

“Um, insomnia. That’s when you have difficulty sleeping, whether it’s falling asleep or staying asleep. I’ve had it for about… three years now, and let me tell you, it fucking sucks.”

 

Eliott’s heart immediately dropped dead onto the floor upon hearing those words come out of his mouth. He couldn’t imagine how horrible and tired he must feel. 

 

“How’d it start, if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

“It started because of some family issues when I was 13. Mostly, it was from my dad yelling at my mom and shit, which caused me to get anxiety as well.”

 

“Are your family issues still going on? How bad are they?”

 

“That, Eliott, is another story to be talked about on another day.” Lucas muttered, his eyes boring into the wall in front of him.

 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to hit a wall.” Eliott heard Lucas hum, and continued on with their discussion. “ So, what are the causes of insomnia? And how’d you find out you have it?”

 

“Well, some common ones are anxiety, stress, worry, anger, and trauma, all of them also being what caused mine. One day, I decided to look it up on the internet, and I read many articles saying that what I was experiencing was called insomnia.”

 

Eliott was beginning to understand more about this, and realized that there was a possible solution to it. “Why don’t you just take sleeping pills, like melatonin?”

 

Lucas was quick to answer. “I don’t have the money for that. And plus, I don’t think that taking a lot of those pills a week would be good on your body.”

 

Eliott hadn’t thought about that, and tried not to linger too long on the fact that Lucas seemed to not have enough money. He figured Lucas would come around to him eventually and tell him more about that situation, since it looked like too much of a personal topic to discuss at the moment.  

 

“Thanks for telling me, Lucas. I mean it.” Eliott gave him a reassuring grin and put a hand on his shoulder, causing Lucas to tear his eyes off the wall and look him in the eye. 

 

Lucas smiled back saying, “Thank you for caring, I’ve never really told anyone that before.”

 

“Just know, I’m here if you want to talk. Whether it’s about your sleeping problems, or the dumbass things your friends tell you throughout the day, because I saw how bored and uninterested you looked this morning. So if you want to vent to me about the stupid stuff they say, go for it. Just know, that I’m here.”

 

“That was some cheesy ass shit, but thanks.” Lucas pauses for a second. “I’m seriously considering your offer about venting to you about my friends, though. I mean, I love them and all, but sometimes they’re just absolutely wild.” Lucas chuckles. 

 

“They sounds like fun though,” Eliott added. 

 

Lucas nodded. “They are, but lately it’s just annoying me how much they talk about girls. Like, Basile is always talking about how he wants to fuck Daphné, and Arthur is just encouraging him all the way. It just gets a bit too much, I guess.”

 

“I see what you mean. It’s all they talk about and you just want a switch in scenery. A chance to talk about anything but girls. I understand. I’d get annoyed too if that’s all I ever heard my friends say.”

 

“Exactly! Man, I’ve gotta introduce you to my friends, they need someone to knock some sense into them.”

 

Eliott laughed at what Lucas said and slapped him on the shoulder playfully. 

 

“I’m just saying, but even though you’re a bit of a clumsy mess, you’re kinda smart.” Lucas said.

 

“Hey!” was all that was said before the two broke into a fit of giggles. 

 

……… 

 

It was now 22:34 and Eliott was feeling bold. He went onto instagram, searched up Lucas’ account, and hit follow without a second thought. 

 

Not even five seconds later, Eliott received a notification, telling him it was worth it. 

 

**lucalallemant started following you.**

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed! feedback is always appreciated. I tried to write this one as fast as i could, but then again, wanted to make sure it was good in my eyes before posting it.


	3. you’re just like an angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains some things about Eliott's past, his being bipolar, and Sofiane coming over with news about Lucas.  
> Lucas and Eliott also DM for the first time and Eliott isn't that much of a disaster in them (probably because he isn't seeing Lulu face to face)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, i wrote a little of Eliott's backstory, and it contains him being bipolar. i asked someone to proofread and i fixed what was suggested to fix. PLEASE if you see something incorrect or insensitive, please let me know, whether it's in the comments, or to my tumbr @veron104
> 
> i tried my best and i really want to do it justice. i'm not bipolar so again, pls tell me about anything you see that isn't right. i want to understand that MI better so any suggestion helps

Eliott was ecstatic, to say the least. He was over the moon. He couldn’t stop staring at the notification on his phone screen in pure disbelief. He took his eyes off of his phone, looking up to the ceiling and was in a state of euphoria he had never experienced before. And it was just from one notification. Something seemingly small, but not to Eliott. It meant so much to him. He looked back down, not being able to help himself. The news, which Eliott couldn’t take his eyes off, was still displayed on the bright screen. 

 

**lucalallemant started following you.**

 

He was smiling, one where the smile met his eyes. One that made the corner of his eyes crinkle with how big he was grinning. One that made him think he should lessen its brightness, to dull it down some; not wanting to crack his entire face due to how big he was smiling. 

 

But Eliott couldn’t help it. He simply couldn’t. And he knew it was probably a bit of a stupid reason to be this happy. He knew Sofiane would probably be scoffing, rolling his eyes at him, and cry out, “Eliott’s whipped!” 

 

But again, he can’t help himself. He doesn’t even want to. He wants to tell everyone he sees, anyone he can reach. Why? Because the boy he likes-

 

Wait. Shit. 

 

_ I like Lucas Lallemant. Holy fucking shit. I’m actually whipped for him, aren’t I?  _ Eliott thought. The realization of what he admitted to himself gave him as much shock as whiplash would’ve. He likes a boy. A boy by the name of Lucas. Lucas Lallemant. 

 

He always knew there was something about him. Something that made him want to know more. At first, he thought he was just intrigued or curious; a cute hip hop dancer that he’s somehow never seen before, even though he goes to the same school as said dancer. 

 

And after meeting him for the first time, Eliott could not get Lucas out of his head. It was as if he was permanently placed there; something that was impossible to remove, and the more he tried, the more his brain thought of the blue eyed boy. It was a never ending situation, and in all honesty, not one that Eliott minded all that much. There were much worse things to think about, like how badly things ended with Lucille. God, if he ever had to see her face or even hear her voice again, he would fucking lose it, without a doubt. So all in all, Lucas being on Eliott’s mind 24/7 was another sign that Eliott somehow missed completely, even though he was aware of it at the same time (he is a pansexual disaster, sue him).

 

Then, he noticed that he began seeing details of Lucas that no one has seen before, or at least, didn’t take into account as much as he did. Eliott had seen his dark circles under his eyes, and how they’ve gradually gotten darker since their first encounter. He later learned they were from Lucas’ insomnia, and was the first to be told about said disorder. 

 

One thing he really took notice of though, and was actually the first thing that stood out to Eliott, besides Lucas’ dancing abilities, were his eyes. His prominent, powerful, shining, big baby blue eyes. They held so much, yet Lucas made sure that they showed only what he wanted people to see, which was happiness, and light. The thing is that it almost seemed fake, that it was just a part of a façade or mask he had on. And Eliott still didn’t understand why. He could tell there was something deep hiding under those positive layers Lucas showed, something dark even. Eliott was sure of it, and Eliott wanted to find out what it was. But he wasn’t about to force Lucas to open up, knowing that he wouldn’t like it if someone tried to pry him open, so he would wait. Wait till Lucas opened up to him because Eliott wanted to know more about the mysterious, closed off guy, who used dance as an escape. An escape for what? Eliott had no clue. Nada. But hey, everyone had their own demons, right? Eliott would know. 

 

He had bipolar disorder, and during his depressive episodes, he fell down into a deep, dark place in his head, and when he was still together with Lucille, it didn’t help when she hovered around like a fly, even though she was only trying to be there for him. When he told her that he was bipolar, she tried her best. She really did, she wanted the best for Eliott. But Eliott knew, as soon as the words came out of his mouth and out into the open, their relationship changed, and it changed for good. He could tell by how her face fell slightly, before regaining composure almost immediately, as if she thought nobody could see the change in her demeanor, but Eliott did. He always did because of his observation skills. 

 

She started becoming more aware of how much he smoked, how many beers he drank, and overall became more controlling over him and his every move. She acted more like a mama bear protecting her cub than a girlfriend, which was the role she claimed she was supposedly playing. If he got overly excited for anything, she’d assume he was going to hit a high, and watched him like a hawk when she thought he didn’t notice. 

 

And even though she annoyed Eliott when she tried to help, she was always there for him when he hit rock bottom. She was there for him time and time again throughout his depressive episodes, even when hurtful things flew out of his mouth. She stuck by his side. That’s why he was too afraid to say anything. He knew she tried to handle it to the best of her ability, but he knew she couldn’t deal with it all the time. And he didn’t want her to have to. She was safe, yes, but he knew she couldn’t handle much more. And he could tell. Then again, he also broke it off with her for his own benefit.

 

He found Sofiane, a grounding presence in his life, that knew Eliott was more than his disorder. When Eliott told Sofiane about him being bipolar, he told him he’d be there for Eliott, and that nothing would change between them. And it didn’t. He became the support Eliott never knew he needed. And when he told Sofiane about not being able to be with Lucille any longer, he simply told him that if Eliott wanted to break it off with Lucille, then he should do it. And if she said he was doing it because he was manic, then he shouldn’t listen to her. Because he’s more than his disorder. His being bipolar doesn’t define him, and it never will. 

 

So he did it. He broke it off with Lucille, and it went as well as it could have, considering who he was breaking up with. To be honest, he doesn’t remember the conversation much. He remembers her crying and her storming out of his flat, but everything else is like a big blur to him. It’s one of those things people black out because they don’t want to remember it, and Eliott certainly doesn’t want to. 

 

His thoughts were disrupted by a knock on the door. Eliott came back into the real world, set his phone to the side and exited his room, going straight to the door. He opened it and was surprised to see Sofiane standing there; it was late on a Monday night, after all.

 

“What brings you here?”

 

“Okay, so no ‘Hi, Sofiane!’ will be said to me. Got it.” Eliott rolled his eyes and let him in, shutting and locking the door behind him. They went to the living room, opting to stand, even though there was a couch and chair near them. 

 

“So, what’s up? It’s kinda late to be out on a school night, so is something wrong?”

 

“Yeah. And it’s about Lucas.”

 

Eliott’s heart sank to the floor and his eyes widened as big as they could go. “What happened?”

 

“I was at the rec center and he just stormed out, telling me it was something about his mom. I’m not sure if he told you anything about her,” Eliott shakes his head, “okay, then I won’t tell you. He’ll tell you himself. Anyways, he isn’t going to be around much this week because of the situation, and my phone died, and I can’t find my damn charger anywhere, and I’d like to contact him to see if he’s okay. So, I was wondering if you had it. He’s most likely on the bus right now, and probably on his phone. So?”

 

Eliott absorbed as much of the information as he could and replied, “Um, yeah. You can DM him from my account, since that’s the only way I have of contacting him.”

 

“Yes, man. Thank you so much.”

 

“Anytime.”

 

He handed Sofiane his phone and he began typing away. 

 

**srodulv**

_ hey, this is Sofiane. i’m using Eliott’s phone right now because mine died on me. just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing.  _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ hey, Sof. i’m not doing great, but i could be worse. i wish this bus was faster so i could see her right now. i’m worried sick.  _

 

**srodulv**

_ hey, i’m sure it’s not as bad as you think. just because she spiraled it doesn’t mean that she’s getting worse. people do that every once in a while. and now that she’ll see you, you can make her feel better :) _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ thanks for trying to soothe me. but you know me, i always expect the worse.  _

 

**srodulv**

_ i know lulu. but go see her, make her smile and laugh, and tell her i said hi.  _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ will do. bye sofiane _

 

**srodulv**

_ bye lulu. text me when you get back.  _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ wait, can you pass the phone back to Eliott pls _

 

**srodulv**

_ sure _

 

Sofiane chuckled to himself and held out Eliott’s phone. “Lucas wants to talk to you. Catch.” Sofiane then threw the phone to Eliott. Unfortunately, Eliott wasn’t ready to do so apparently, still shocked by the words ‘Lucas wants to talk to you’. So while he was internally screaming with excitement, his phone hit the floor with a thud. A thud loud enough to snap Eliott out of it. He looked down at his feet, registering his phone, screen faced down and mumbled, “shit.”

 

He picked it up and thankfully, it wasn’t cracked. He sighed a sigh of relief and looked up to see Sofiane with an amused expression plastered on his face. “Dude, are you daydreaming or something? I threw it in a way you couldn’t have missed it. Yet, you still did.” He was full on laughing by the time he finished. 

 

“Shut up.” Eliott muttered, and went to the chat with Lucas, tuning out Sofiane in the background. 

 

**srodulv**

_ hey Lucas. it’s Eliott  _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ Eliottttttt! my favorite weirdo!  _

 

Eliott rolled his eyes.  _ That little shithead _ . 

 

**lucalallemant**

_ I’m guessing Sofiane told you, didn’t he? _

 

**srodulv**

_ he didn’t tell me much. all i know is that you left the rec center because you needed to see your mom? I don’t know anything else other than that you might not be here much this week.  _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ yeah, that’s true. he didn’t tell you anything else? _

 

**srodulv**

_ nope _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ that’s good.  _

 

_ can i tell you something…. _

 

**srodulv**

_ of course _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ you’re really easy to talk to. it’s like, there’s something about you that makes me want to open up and spill my deepest, darkest secrets. you know what i mean? _

 

Eliott’s heart was racing 100,000 miles a minute. He was so happy that Lucas felt that way about him. He went to the couch and finally sat down, content and typing away something to tease him on his phone. 

 

**srodulv**

_ i do. it’s probably because of my charming personality and my, and i quote, ‘not bad looking face’ _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ haha dickhead. but in all seriousness, it kinda scares me. i mean, we’ve known each other for less than a week. and yet, I find myself telling you things not even my friends know about, like my insomnia.  _

 

**srodulv**

_ well, sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone you don’t know _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ true, but i still think it’s something else. it’s something about you _

 

**srodulv**

_ well, I’ll take it as a compliment.  _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ can i tell you something else? _

 

**srodulv**

_ you can tell me anything, i won’t judge _

 

At this point, Sofiane went into Eliott’s room, looking for a charger to charge his phone. He lied down on Eliott’s bed while waiting (probably thinking about Imane) for Eliott to talk to him, or for his phone to unlock. Whichever came first. Eliott was still on the couch, waiting for Lucas’ reply. 

 

**lucalallemant**

_ you probably think i’m going home, right? _

 

**srodulv**

_ yeah, to your mom… _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ well, i’m still going to see my mom, but i don’t live with my parents  _

 

**srodulv**

_ no?  _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ nope. i live in a flatshare with 3 roommates, 2 of them hate my guts though _

 

**srodulv**

_ don’t say that. i’m pretty sure it’s impossible to hate you _

 

_ and you know what? _

 

**lucalallemant**

_??? _

 

**srodulv**

_ i also live in a flat, except i live by myself. my parents pay the rent _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ no way. who would’ve thought we’d have that in common? at least your parents pay your rent _

 

**srodulv**

_ what do you mean? _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ my dad forgets to transfer me money. i’m already two months late. he’s probably too busy with his other family to care.  _

 

**srodulv**

_ no offense, but your dad sounds like a douche  _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ that’s because he is _

 

_ can’t talk anymore but i’ll let you know that i won’t be at school much. feel free to message me though :) _

 

**srodulv**

_ okay. let me know how your mother is, only if you feel like telling me though.  _

 

_ no pressure.  _

 

_ like seriously, tell me on your own accord _

 

Eliott could tell how insistent he was after he hit send. Was he being too pushy? Too much?

 

**lucalallemant**

_ got it ❤️❤️ _

 

_ night weirdo _

 

**srodulv**

_ goodnight to you too Lucas ❤️ _

 

Eliott was freaking out. Heart emojis? That must mean something. He went to his room, running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are appreciated ;)  
> check out my tumblr @veron104 (i also post chapters there)


	4. your skin makes me cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sofiane spends the night at eliott’s  
> lucas and eliott dm for a bit  
> lucas comes back on thursday  
> a bit of angst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey. if you’re reading this, i just wanted to let you know that i’m taking a summer course so it might be hard for me to update as often as i’d like. i might only be able to once a week or maybe even longer. just wanted to let y’all know

When Eliott burst into his room, Sofiane bolted upright from the bed he was laying on. He looked shocked, and Eliott’s screaming wasn’t about to help that. 

 

“SOFIANE!”

 

“I’m up! I’m up!” He choked out, having been startled out of his thoughts (aka Imane, who’s on his mind 24/7). “What happened? Are you okay?”

 

Sofiane rubbed his eyes with his hands, trying to rub his daydreams away while waiting for Eliott to respond. 

 

“I just had the best conversation I have ever had with Lucas!” Eliott rushed out excitedly, not being able to contain his joy. He started to jump up and down as well, really hoping his neighbors downstairs wouldn’t complain later. 

 

“Dude, I hate to break it to you, but you think every interaction with Lucas is the best thing ever.” Sofiane deadpanned. 

 

Eliott scoffed, putting his hands to his chest, offended. “I most certainly do not!”

 

Sofiane just snorted at the comment. “Yes, you do. I’ve been friends with you long enough to know how your mind works. And unfortunately, your mind thinks exactly like that.”

 

Eliott huffed out a breath and crossed his arms across his chest. “Fuck you.” he spat. 

 

“Hey,” Sofiane removed his hands from his face and raised them up, “sorry not sorry, Eli. It’s true.”

 

Eliott rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He went to sit on the edge of the bed. “He said that he wouldn’t be here a lot this week, like you said.”

 

“I’m guessing that means that Alex and I have to deal with a sulking Eliott, right?” Sofiane asked jokingly. He got a punch in the arm for that by Eliott. “Ow, man. But I’m just saying, it’s obvious that you like him. And pining from afar won’t change anything. It’ll just show how much you miss him. And also, I’m kinda glad he’s not here this week.”

 

“Why?” Eliott eyed him curiously, wanting to know where Sofiane was going with his statement. 

 

“So that way, you won’t embarrass yourself around him any further. I’m just saying man, but you’re already a bit clumsy normally. But it gets at least 50 times worse around Lucas. And to me and others - the bystanders who watch your interactions - it’s absolutely hilarious. A hoot, even. But something tells me it’s not the same for you, is it?” Sofiane questions rhetorically, already knowing the answer he’ll receive. 

 

“No, it’s not. It’s humiliating to be honest. At least Lucas doesn’t laugh a whole lot, though, he mainly just teases me.”

 

“Well it’s not that hard to do.” Sofiane admits, a smirk plastered on his face. 

 

“Hey!” Eliott complained, not believing the roast that came out of his best friend’s mouth. 

 

“Well, you didn’t hear it from me, but remember when we were kids and anytime our old friends or I gave you something to hold, you’d drop it?” Eliott nods, so Sofiane continues. “Well, you did that so often - literally every single fucking time - that we started calling you butterfingers, like the candy bar, because it was as if your fingers were greased with butter.” 

 

Sofiane started laughing, and Eliott couldn’t help but chuckle along, thinking of how the nickname made perfect sense. 

 

“It was the funniest thing back then, I swear. We all thought we were geniuses for thinking it.” Sofiane managed to get out, since he was full on wheezing by now. 

 

Once they calmed down, Eliott took a look at the time. “Shit, it’s 23:58. Do you want to stay over? You still have some things here, and your house isn’t far, so you can leave earlier in the morning.”

 

Sofiane considers his options, before nodding. “Sure, let me just tell my parents. I think my phone is on now. If it’s not by now, then I'm going to have a serious talk with Apple.” Sofiane says.

 

Eliott shakes his head and gets ready for the night.

 

~

 

Eliott and Sofiane woke up pretty early. It was 7:32 and class started at 9:00 for both of them, so they decided to get have breakfast at Eliott’s. Then, once Eliott had his things ready and was dressed for school, they’d head to Sof’s, get his things, and head out. 

 

Luckily, their plan worked quite well, considering they had five minutes to spare when they sat down in their seats in their French literature class. 

 

The rest of the morning went by in a bit of a blur for Eliott, until he heard his phone ping, indicating he got a notification. He took it out of his jacket pocket, and pressed the home button to see what caused his phone to ping. He then saw that it was a DM from Lucas. He opened up the message as fast as he could, smiling already. 

 

**lucalallemant**

_ hey. how’s lunch treating you? _

 

**srodulv**

_ meh. it’s pasta with a weird ass white sauce _

_ but it could be worse _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ lol true _

_ so i have good news… _

 

**srodulv**

_ continue, you got my attention... _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ well, i am able to come back on thursday! _

 

**srodulv**

_ that’s great! _

_ your mom is doing better? _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ yes. i guess i was anticipating the worst and therefore planned for the worst.  _

 

**srodulv**

_ well, i’ll see you on thursday and i guess your friends must be happy _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ um they don’t know yet. and well, i could come tomorrow, but i wanna stay with her one more day to make sure she’s good.  _

 

**srodulv**

_ that’s nice. but why didn’t you tell your friends? _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ they don’t ask. i only told them that i wasn’t gonna be there for a few days because of family problems.  _

 

**srodulv**

_ do they know about your mom? _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ yeah. but i think that they think i use it as an excuse and don’t really care.  _

 

**srodulv**

_ what do you mean by an excuse? _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ well when i can’t go to parties and hang out with them, i tell them it’s because i’m with my mom, and it’s true. but they think i’m lying.  _

 

**srodulv**

_ i’m sorry. that must suck.  _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ it sucks ass. but oh well, i know they don’t say it to hurt me. they just don’t understand. and tbh i don’t know what i’d do without them.  _

 

**srodulv**

_ try talking to them about it and see if they get it. if not, give them time. they’ll get it eventually.  _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ you should be a counselor or something _

 

**srodulv**

_ and deal with you all the time? i’m good _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ ouch. what a goddamn low blow. and i thought we were friends _

_ shit. gotta go. see you thursday Eli.  _

 

**srodulv**

_ how do you know my nickname? _

 

**lucalallemant**

_ sofiane told me haha  _

_ bye❤️ _

 

**srodulv**

_ bye❤️ _

 

Eliott closed out the app and looked up, and saw Sofiane and Alex heading over to the table Eliott was sat at. 

 

“Hey, Eli,” Sofiane greeted when they reached the table.  

 

“Hey.” Eliott addressed to Sofiane. He turned to Alex, who was setting his tray down. “Hey, bro.”

 

“Hey, how’s crushing on Lucas going?” Alex retorts, a smug grin making its way onto his face. 

 

“Screw you.” Eliott paused for a moment before going on. “Speaking of, why did you tell him my nickname, Sof?”

 

Sofiane furrowed his eyebrows for a second before replying, “Oh! He told me about how you stubbed your toe, after you left. I laughed and told him, ‘that’s Eli for you.’ He then asked if that was something your friends call you, which I responded, ‘only people who know the nickname, and there aren’t many.’ Why? Did he call you it or something?” Sofiane asked. 

 

“Yeah. And then he went on to tell me that you told him.”

 

“Sometimes Eli, Sofiane slips up, like how you do. Except, you know, you slip up with your feet and hands.” Seeing no reaction from Eliott, Alex explained further. “Get it? Because you’re the clumsiest person in the world!”

 

“Oh, fuck off, Alex!” Eliott exclaimed, but that was barely audible over the laughter pouring out of Alex and Sofiane. 

 

~

 

It was now Wednesday, and Eliott couldn’t wait for tomorrow. Lucas would finally come back. Eliott would be able to see his cute, beautiful face in person, now, instead of scrolling through his instagram pictures to see it. It also meant he could see Lucas dance at the rec center again. Hell yeah. Eliott was pumped, to say the least. The two had been messaging each other through instagram this morning, but it wasn’t the same to Eliott. Nothing compared to seeing Lucas. Seeing his facial expressions. Seeing his smile. Seeing his ocean blue eyes (the prettiest things on the planet). Just seeing everything about him, basically. 

 

_ Snap out of it, Eliott. One more day. You can do this. Just one more day, then, you can see him.  _

 

Wednesdays for Eliott were pretty easy. He only two classes. He had French Literature in the morning, followed by his art class, also known as his favorite class ever. It was the only class where he was allowed to express himself in the only way he knew best: drawing. It was how he got all his thoughts out, good or bad. Today, his class didn’t do anything, due to finishing their assignments ahead of schedule, so the teacher let them do whatever the fuck they wanted. Eliott chose to draw. 

 

He wasn’t surprised when he started drawing a raccoon, his spirit animal, in the dance studio at the rec center. What did surprise him however, was what he drew right next to it. A hedgehog. How didn’t he notice? Did he zone out? He hadn’t even realized that he had been thinking about Lucas’ spirit animal, but apparently he had. And it was a hedgehog. Huh. It made sense though. 

 

His hair, for one thing, did remind Eliott of quills. And not to mention his personality. He mostly kept to himself, but if he needed to, he’d be ready to attack. As if he was on defense. Like a hedgehog.  _ Interesting.  _

 

When class was over, Eliott stuck the drawing of the raccoon and hedgehog in the dance studio, into his backpack. He smiled to himself on his way out of the classroom. He decided to skip lunch, deciding he could order pizza once he made it to his flat. It seemed like a much more appealing idea, compared to eating school food, that is. 

 

He made it to his place, ordered a pizza, and messaged with Lucas, until his food arrived. As soon as Eliott finished his meal and refrigerated what was left of the pizza, he picked up where he left off with Lucas. Messaging him, to be specific. 

 

~

 

Finally, after what seemed like for-fucking-ever, Thursday arrived. Thank god. It felt like ages until it would come. Ages.

 

Eliott was giddy when he woke up. Extremely giddy, actually, and didn’t even try to hide it. It was funny how Lucas affected him. How he gave Eliott that extra pep in his step. It’s not like he actively tried to do that. But he just affects Eliott like that. It’s the Lallemant effect, Eliott thinks, and he doesn’t mind it whatsoever. 

 

Eliott got out of his bed and took a quick shower. After, he changed into some washed out skinny jeans, a black hoodie, and his signature caramel oversized bomber jacket. He slipped on his shoes, screw socks, and headed into the kitchen. He found a random granola bar and ate it, grabbing his backpack when he finished it. He was out the door before he knew it. 

 

He found his headphones while waiting at the bus stop, and connected them to his phone. Deciding to find a song instead of listening to his regular dubstep, he searched “Toi Et Moi”, which he thought matched his yearning and want perfectly. He wanted Lucas. He wanted there to be a Lucas and Eliott. 

 

~

 

Once he got to school, he lowered the volume of his music. He was content. After a painstaking two days, he’d see Lucas. Okay, maybe he was being a bit too over dramatic, but can you blame him? He really wants to see his crush, almost as if he was the oxygen that Eliott needed to breathe. It was an urgent need for Eliott to see him. And he saw him. Boy oh boy, he saw him. Just. Not how he expected. Not in the slightest. 

 

He didn’t expect to hear yelling this early in the morning, so Eliott took out his headphones and looked up. 

 

He saw Lucas and his friends, yelling at each other. He could hear a bit of what they were saying. 

 

“You ditch us every fucking time Lucas!” The blond one with glasses says, looked fed up. 

 

“I had family problems to attend to! I don’t ditch on purpose!” Lucas tries, but his friends don’t look convinced. Lucas looked drained. Exhausted. “You know what? I’m leaving.” He turns to leave, only stopping when the kid with glasses speaks up again. 

 

“Yeah, guys. Just let him leave, probably more family problems, right? Daddy issues again, I presume?”

 

The look on Lucas’ face was displaying rage and fury to an extent Eliott had never seen before. And the comment had Lucas walking back up to the group. 

 

“Don’t you dare talk about my family!” And with that, Lucas pushed the kid with glasses, causing his glasses to fall onto the concrete and break. 

 

Then, broken glasses kid slapped Lucas across the face. Brutally. Hard. The slap was laced with intention. Lucas just snarled, flipped his friends off, and walked into the building, cursing at the people he caught staring. 

 

Eliott was shocked, confused, and worried. 

 

What the hell just happened?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys enjoyed. Feedback, comments, and kudos are appreciated. 
> 
> i’ll try to update soon
> 
> tumblr - @veron104


	5. you float like a feather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliott and Lucas ditch school because fuck that  
> Lulu tells Eliott what happened with his mom  
> They go grocery shopping  
> Oh and they go back to Eliott’s flat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I’m back!  
> Sorry about that, I’ve been busy because my class wants to suffocate me  
> But I’m back and with a chapter that’s pretty long (7k), considering I wrote it  
> Oh and btw, Franprix is a grocery store in France if you didn’t know. And depending on how big the store is, depends on the cart sizes (I think; I’m not French). The one that the boys go to is pretty small, so they use this type of cart: [Franprix cart](https://images.app.goo.gl/2YuunfK6zBmWy1yU6)

No, like seriously, what the hell just happened? Just one moment ago, Eliott was walking past the gates and into the school, eager to see Lucas again after not seeing him for days. He was thinking about what to say to him when he saw him, whether or not he should act like a five year old girl and squeal. Or if he should seem nonchalant and risk humiliating himself again. Then he hears screaming, to which he reacted to by taking out his headphones and staring at the commotion, getting out of his thoughts jumbled mind. And then, Eliott fell into a state of shock. He stopped walking as soon as he saw who was screaming: Lucas and one of his friends, the blond one with glasses, more specifically. If someone dared to shove Eliott, he would surely fall without trying to brace for impact because he was in that much shock.

 

But it wasn’t just screaming that occurred between the two of them, it started to get physical. Lucas pushed the guy with glasses, and the latter answered to this by slapping Lucas right in the face, hard. So hard, that Eliott could hear the slap from where he was standing at least ten feet away. Eliott was able to hear what Lucas said about not messing with his family before the fight, fortunately not being completely dazed. The next thing Eliott knows, is that Lucas is walking into the school, practically snarling at people who so much as just looked at him, a glare set in place.

 

Finally, he snapped out of it, his face regaining the olive color it was before. He stood there, watching Lucas’ friends, who all looked extremely fed up, except the dark skinned one. He looked worried and was trying to calm the blond one down. The one with curly dark hair and striped shirt just looked confused, confounded even, with a little bit of wrath showing in his eyes. Eliott could relate to him, since he too felt the same way, the only difference being that Eliott was mad at the three of them, not Lucas.

 

Finally, the bell rang, meaning that it was Eliott’s cue to leave, needing to head to his French Literature class on time. He put his earbuds back in his ears, listening to the one song he’d been listening to all morning: Toi Et Moi.

 

***

 

Eliott couldn’t focus at all. His mind was like a Samsung washing machine, tumbling and replaying the memories of the fight that took place this morning over and over and over again, no matter how many times Eliott wanted to stop. He couldn’t stop seeing the fury and exasperation displayed all over Lucas’ face. He remembers the sadness shown when he realized his friends didn’t believe him, hell, they didn’t even let him explain everything and Eliott was sure of that. They would be far more understanding if they knew the full story, Eliott just knew. Yet, they didn’t hear the entire thing and ended up creating a mess in the courtyard.

 

He thought about messaging Lucas, but realized the boy would probably want some space. That didn’t mean however, that if Eliott saw him in the hallway he wouldn’t stop to ask how he’s doing. On the contrary actually; Eliott would run up to him, pray that he wouldn't slip on a banana peel he didn’t notice as if he were in Mario Kart, and talk to him. But for now, even though pulling out his phone was tempting, he’d leave Lucas be. He’d give him some space and maybe later when his patience would for sure start running low, he’d message him. But later. Not now. Well, maybe... no. Not now. 

 

The bell rang, indicating that it was time for lunch.  _ Thank God _ , Eliott thought, _ I’m fucking starving. _ He hated having lunch so late in the day and wished he could get the school to make it earlier, so he wouldn’t have to feel embarrassed every time his stomach rumbled during a lesson. But then again, he should’ve had more than just a granola bar for breakfast. 

 

Eliott packed up his notes and journal, which were sprawled out on his desk, slung his green school bag on his shoulder, said bye to his teacher like the polite guy he is, and made his way to the lunch line to get his, hopefully not too bad, meal. He grabbed a tray once he entered and made his way to get in line. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he sees a mess of hair that he’d know from anywhere, so he turned his head to face the direction of that brunette’s messy locks. And sure enough, it was the person Eliott thought it was. It was Lucas. Lucas, who looked miserable and was also holding up the line, seemingly not being able to choose between a horrendous looking plate of pasta and an odd shaped green blob.

 

Keeping true to his word, Eliott decided that he’d approach him, ask him how he was and if he was holding up okay, and maybe, just maybe, ask him to eat at his table with Alex and Sofiane. He thought it was a good plan and between now and the next thirty seconds was his best opportunity to kick that plan into action. Elliott took the big space between Lucas and the next girl in line as a sign from the universe telling him to talk to Lucas  _ right the fuck now _ . So when the girl wasn’t looking, he snuck into the space, standing right beside him. Apparently, Lucas didn’t notice him, judging from the way he was staring down the plates in front of him, as if he zoned out. Eliott chuckled to himself and chose to say something to him.

 

Eliott went by his ear and whispered, “Hey, weirdo.”

 

Lucas jolted when he heard Eliott and placed a hand on top of his heart when he looked up at him. “Fuck, you scared me.”

 

“Sorry, that wasn’t my intention.” Eliott smiled shyly. Lucas waved a hand as if to say ‘don’t worry about it.’ A silence fell upon them suddenly. After a moment, Eliott spoke up again, in an attempt to make lucas laugh. “If I were you, I’d take both.” He nudged his head towards the food, ignoring the girl behind them telling them to hurry up. 

 

“Well sometimes you have to choose.” Lucas said, a sad glint appearing in his eyes.  _ He's talking about his friends! Abort mission, abort mission, abort mission.  _ Eliott couldn't stand it so he did what he saw on a Norwegian TV show and took all the plates, since there weren’t any paper towels around. He put them both on his tray and looked to see Lucas staring at him in disbelief.  _ This is going good so far. Now do what Even did and act as if this is completely fucking normal _ , Eliott thought to himself. 

 

“What? You want one now?” He asked, pretending to not understand Lucas’ expression. “I mean, I’d give you one, but I’m pretty hungry and you were just staring so…”

 

“Very funny,” He paused and huffed. “I can’t believe I just realized how much of a dork you are, that’s all,” Lucas said smirking, grabbing the plate of pasta off Eliott’s tray and putting it onto his.

 

“Hey! That’s my pasta!” Eliott exclaimed, feigning anger, even though he couldn’t care less if Lucas stole his food.

 

Lucas chuckled and rolled his eyes, “Weirdo.”

 

They both moved to pay for their lunches and once they finally made their way out of the line, Eliott noticed how Lucas tensed when they walked into the cafeteria, seeing Lucas’ friends at the front table having a great time without him.

 

“Hey,” Eliott began, “How would you like to get out of here?” And  _ oh god where did that come from? The plan was to invite him to your table. Oh well, I guess there is no going back now. _

 

“What do you mean? Oh wait- you saw the fight earlier, didn’t you?” Lucas’ face fell and his eyes began to look glassy, tears welling up inside. 

 

“Yeah, and I can tell you guys aren’t in the best place right now. So once again, why don’t we get out of here?’

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“100% and I think we both know that cafes have better food than here so…” Eliott trailed off.

 

“You know what? Fuck it. Let’s leave this goddamn place.” Lucas announced and put his tray on the cleaning rack to get it cleaned. Eliott followed suit and put his tray on the rack, except it actually never made it. Eliott let go too early and it ended up falling on the floor, somehow doing a 180 spin in the air, causing the plate to smash due to the impact it hit the floor with.

 

“Shit!” Eliott hissed, hoping not to draw too much attention towards himself and the accident. Unfortunately, half the cafeteria looked at him, then turned away after a few moments. Lucas turned around and started laughing his ass off, motioning for Eliott to follow him. And Eliott did. He followed Lucas outside the cafeteria, in the hallways, and past the gate of the school. 

 

***

They ran to the nearest cafe they could find, with their backpacks jumping on their backs. Once they found one that looked promising, they made their way inside. 

 

The place had a very ‘at home’ feel to it, with succulent plants placed at the center of every table. The walls were painted a nice shade of off-white, and the way they contrasted to the dark brown, almost mahogany, wooden floor really tied the place together. The barista station and cash register area had nice grey granite counters and overall, Eliott would give it a 9 out of 10 aesthetics-wise. The tables weren’t organized in any particular order, and the ones that caught Eliott’s eye were the ones by the full sized glass windows. He had always loved sitting by windows, a place where the sun rays were sure to hit his sketchbook when drawing. But today, if he was lucky, he could see how the sun beams hit Lucas’ face, his hair, and most importantly, his eyes. Were his eyes the ones that were always an opaque blue? Or did they shift sometimes depending on where he was and the time of day? Eliott would like to find out, so he crossed his fingers, hoping Lucas liked window seats too. Lucas tapped him on the shoulder, dragging him out of his thoughts. He was skimming through the menu and Eliott realized he should probably do that as well. Not even ten seconds later, Lucas speaks up. 

 

“Since this was your idea, tell me what you want to order and I’ll pay for it.” Lucas said. 

 

“What! No way, I’ll pay. You haven’t been having the best of days, so let me get you something to cheer you up at the very least,” Eliott pleaded. He even made sure to do his best puppy eyes, ones that even Sofiane couldn’t say no to. It seemed to work because Lucas put his hands up in mock surrender and sighed. 

 

“Ok, fine. I’ll have an iced chai tea latte then.”

 

“A chai tea latte?” Eliott smiled with amusement. Who knew Lucas liked tea?

 

“Yes. I like what I like and I’m not in the mood for black coffee, thank you very much.” He retorted. Eliott smiled, falling for Lucas even more just because of that statement. 

 

“Okay then, one chai tea latte coming up for Mr. Lallemant.”

 

Lucas smiles. “Thanks, Eliott. I mean it. You’re the only one who’s managed to make me smile today.” And before Eliott even gets a chance to reply, Lucas makes his way to a table by one of the large windows, waiting for Eliott. 

 

_ Hell yeah! Window seat, here I come!  _ Eliott thought as soon as he saw where Lucas sat down. Now he could study Lucas’ face in a different type of lighting. But before he could think about that any further, the cashier/barista (she was working both) called him up and asked him what he’d like. 

 

“Can I have one caramel Frappuccino with extra caramel on top? Oh, and can you add on some extra whipped cream, but like, in a separate cup filled up to the top, with some chocolate chips?” Eliott ordered, the lady looking more bewildered the more he added. 

 

“Anything else?” The lady asked cautiously. 

 

“Yes! Can I have one chai tea latte too, please?”

 

“Okay, your total will be €23.”

 

Eliott pays and heads on back to where Lucas is sitting, staring out the window. And Eliott was right, the sun and it’s beams are doing wonders to Lucas. His face is basked in a golden hue of light, looking like an angel straight out of heaven. Eliott hadn’t even seen his eyes yet, only his cheekbones and temples, but he knew that he wanted this moment engraved into his memory. He still couldn’t believe the sight in front of him, an absolute beauty. Eliott felt a bit bad for those who’d never seen the effect light does on Lucas; they’re missing out on a good view. 

 

Eliott drops his backpack onto the floor next to the chair he just sat down in. Lucas turns his head to look at him, and smiles a small, yet there, smile. Eliott returns it, since he’s rendered completely fucking speechless, thanks to Lucas. They sit there, letting the silence overtake them and drown them whole, except, it feels nice, relaxing; comforting even. They stare into each other’s eyes, not daring to look away, and take in the other’s presence. 

 

Finally, Eliott can see what Lucas’ eyes look like in the sun rays. They’re art, is the first thing that he thinks. They help make his eyes look more blue, if that’s even possible. It somehow makes his irises look a bit pale on the outskirts, the inskirts too vibrant to be affected. It creates a spectacular ombré effect that he’s never seen take place in anyone’s eyes before. It’s marvelous and glorious. He feels as if the longer he stares into Lucas’ eyes, the more he gets consumed by them with each passing minute, and it’s an experience, a lovely one that Eliott would like to have again, and again; basically as many times as he can. And when Eliott looks a bit higher, he can see Lucas’ eyelashes. They’re long, wispy, and absolutely precious. The sunlight hits them, making them look a lighter, auburn-ish brown and it makes Lucas eyes look complete. He goes back to looking at his eyes, missing them already. They were stunning, yes, but he could also see suffering in there as well, a sight he wants to disassociate Lucas from. He wants Lucas to feel lighter and have that suffering and pain gone from his eyes. That’s Eliott’s goal, and he’d do just about anything to achieve it. 

 

The lady comes back with their order, thankfully getting Eliott’s right, and makes her way back behind the counter. Lucas looks at Eliott’s order, jaw dropped and eyeing it in disbelief.

 

“Did you seriously just get a cup full of whipped cream, filled to the brim?” Lucas asks incredulously.  

 

“Yup, I don’t know about you, but I spend my money on things that I can’t live without. Whipped cream is one of them.”

 

“Oh, lord. Well, enjoy your whipped cream then.” 

 

“I will!” Eliott says excitedly, ready to eat it all. Lucas laughs at that. 

 

The two drank their drinks in silence, occasionally hearing Eliott’s metal spoon hit the cup when digging into his whipped cream. It stayed like that for about three minutes. Lucas looked at Eliott the whole time, not once taking his eyes off him.

 

“It sucks, you know?” Lucas starts abruptly, tearing his eyes away from Eliott’s eyes, turning to look out the window. “They don’t even let me explain. They know about her, but this time it was just awful. And I couldn’t do anything.” Tears started falling now, and Eliott would do anything to stop them. 

 

“Then why don’t you tell me? At least then, one person would get the full story. Only if you want to though.”

 

“Yeah-um, okay.” Lucas takes a deep breath. “It started when I was eleven. My mom, she started saying things about how she was a messenger from God, and that she was chosen. Chosen to be the one to save the earth from the Antichrist. She started reading the Bible all the time. Anytime I’d see her, she was reading it. It got to the point where she started memorizing scriptures and psalms, quoting them by memory. That was when my dad started getting home later and later. 

 

Then she got a bit worse when I was thirteen. She got to a point where she thought I was the antichrist and started to throw things at me. It wasn’t too bad for me though, her aim wasn’t the best. It was still scary though, I had no idea what to do. And my dad wasn’t even coming home half the time, so I assumed he just had too much work, and slept at the office. I realized that wasn’t the case later. But when he was home, he’d yell at my mom, telling her to snap out of it, and even hit her sometimes. That’s when I realized that he was probably drunk, if his breath was anything to go by. I tried to stop him, but it didn’t work. Ever. That was one of the worst years of my life, thanks to him. Thirteen was also when I started getting my insomnia. I was so stressed out and worried about my mom that I couldn’t sleep. 

 

At fourteen, my dad left us, and I realized why he wasn’t home. He was sleeping at his girlfriend’s house. I was so upset when I found out. He packed up his shit and when I asked him why he was leaving us, he said that he just didn’t want crazy people in his life. That day my mom locked herself in her room and didn’t come out till the next day. I realized that it would just be me and her, so I did the best I could to take care of her, and juggled school at the same time. It worked well for about a little over a year, but it all became too much. Too much homework, stress, and my mom wasn’t getting any better. I told my dad over text to please help us, that it was the least he could do. So he put her in a clinic not too far from here. The clinic diagnosed her with schizophrenia. And because I couldn’t live at the clinic with her, I stayed at my house until my dad told me I had a week to move out, saying he wouldn’t cover our bills and would put the house on sale. Fourteen was also the year I began to dance at the rec center, looking up tutorials on youtube and enjoying myself the entire time. It was an outlet for me, a way to express my anger and emotions about how mad I was at my dad. Now, I use it as an escape from the world and all my problems, whether they are ones from my school, friends, or flatmates. And plus, it's one of my favorite things to do. I love it so much you have no idea.

 

Anyways, two days after my dad told me to move out, Manon, a girl from my grade, realized how stressed I was and I couldn’t hold it in. I told her everything. She then said she was moving to London and that she lived in a flat share so I could take her room. I’ve been living there ever since. But then she came back two months ago and because I couldn’t pay my rent on time because my dad forgot to transfer money into my account, I got moved out of her room and onto the living room couch. That’s the whole backstory for you.” Lucas finished. 

 

Eliott was shocked. How could someone’s dad be such a dick? He couldn’t help but ask one thing though. “Do you think what your dad thinks, though? That you don’t need crazy people in your life?” Eliott needed to know his answer, it would tell him whether he should back away or stay. 

 

Lucas looked at him, wide-eyed and mouth agape. “Why the fuck would I think that? Of course not!  And plus, I don’t think my mom’s crazy. Sure, she has schizophrenia, but that doesn’t make her crazy. It’s an obstacle, but it doesn’t stop making her, her. She’s my mom. I love her, regardless of her mental illness. It doesn’t define her, and it never will. Just because someone has an MI, it doesn’t make them crazy. My dad is just an insensitive piece of shit.” 

 

Eliott almost sighed a sigh of relief. But he had to agree with Lucas. “You’re dad sure sounds like one.” He took a sip of his coffee. “So, what happened to your mom on Monday, if you don’t mind me asking.”

 

“My dad made an unexpected visit to the clinic. He finally came to tell her about how he was engaged to someone else and that he was divorcing her, and she spiraled a bit. She tried calling me, and when I answered, I heard both of them yelling and made my way to the clinic as fast as possible. By the time I got there, he was yelling and screaming, and my mom was convinced he was the Antichrist and exerted so much energy into trying to hit him with her bible, she collapsed onto the floor and fainted. The nurses came in, and my dad and I were ushered into the waiting area.” More tears cascaded down his cheeks, and Eliott so badly wanted to wipe them away. 

 

“I screamed at him then. I told him to never go there again, but he just spat in my face, saying that he could do whatever the fuck he pleased. I almost lost it there, but controlled myself, opting to ask him why he hadn’t transferred any money to my account instead. And do you know what he said?” Eliott shook his head. “He said that if I talked to him like that again, he would stop making transactions. He said I was old enough to find a job and pay for rent myself. As if I’m not busy enough with school. I’m sixteen! I can’t make enough money to pay rent from a part-time job. So I shut up and apologized. Thankfully, he sent me enough money to cover the rents I had missed and to pay for the next month’s one, when he left. At least he feels a bit guilty, but that’s not what this is about. 

 

When my mom woke up, they let me see her, and said I was allowed to stay with her as long as I wanted as long as I didn’t bring around any stress. So that’s where I’ve been. In the clinic with my mom. When she was more stabilized the next day, she taught me how to knit. She told me stories from things that occurred in the clinic, even though I visit her almost daily. It was nice, seeing her happy and get better from Monday night. So I stayed until I was sure she was fine. But now, I’m pretty sure all my teachers are annoyed with me for skipping too many lessons. And on top of that, my friends hate my guts.”

 

“I don’t hate your guts.”

 

“That’s good. Your fun to be around.”

 

Eliott thought for a moment. “I remember you telling me that your friends think that you use her as an excuse, why’s that?”

 

Lucas groans, rolling his eyes. “I told all my friends that I was gay, like two months ago. They were so proud of me for coming out, especially the boys, and wanted to celebrate by taking me to gay bars. It was a sweet gesture, and I really appreciated it, and still do. Unfortunately, I was having a bad time around then. I found out my dad was engaged, and he still hadn’t told my mom, he also wasn’t answering my messages about paying for rent, and that was also when I was moved to the couch. I was in a bad mood. So I started hanging around the flat less. I danced more, and began seeing my mom after I was done because she made my day, and was getting a lot better. I just wasn’t feeling like going out to any clubs. So every time I told them I was with my mom, which I was, they started to think it was bullshit; that I was lying to them.”

 

“That’s tough. I wish your friends could’ve let you explain. What are their names again?”

 

“Me too.” He pulls out his phone and pulls up a picture of all of them. “This one is Yann, he’s my best friend. He’s like a brother to me, always worrying about me too much. He’s been the best about my family situation out of all of them. This one is Arthur. He’s like the mom friend of our group, and gets us really good weed. He’s the one who slapped me, and is probably tired of me by this point. And lastly, this is Basile. He has no brain to mouth filter. He’s kinda stupid, but got better ever since he started dating Daphné. Don’t ever high five him though, we don’t know where his hands have been.”

 

“They seem cool, though. And I think they’ll understand eventually, they wouldn’t just leave you.”

 

“But it seems like they will. They’re so sick of me, I can tell,”

 

“They won’t. You’re fun, playful, kind, sarcastic,  an amazing dancer, and an overall great person. Trust me, they won’t leave you.” Eliott said sincerely. 

 

Lucas huffed. “Wow, you’re really an angel on earth, aren’t you? You’re sweet, funny, kind, give good advice, and to top it all off, incredibly cute.” Lucas said without any shame. 

 

Eliott blushed then, his cheeks a nice shade of pink. “Thanks, you too.” He barely managed to choke out. Lucas smiled at that, so he’ll take it as a win. "I know it's probably a bit late for me to say this, but I'm proud of you for coming out. It's hard, I would know."

 

"Oh yeah?" 

 

"Yup. I came out as pansexual for the first time last year during third year."

 

"Well then, I'm proud of you too, even though I'm a year late."

 

"Thanks!"

 

"”No prob-wait, aren't you in third year right now?"

 

"Um, yeah. I am repeating this year since I didn't pass my bac." Luckily Eliott got over this, having Sofiane by his side as his emotional support buddy helped him realize that it wasn't his fault he had an episode during the bac; that those things happened, and at least Sofiane was going into third year, so he'd know someone at his new school. 

 

"Shit, by much?"

 

"By nothing, I didn't go." And Lucas didn't ask anymore questions, figuring that if Eliott wanted to tell him, he'd tell him. "So, when did you realize you were into guys?"

 

"Ah, definitely when I saw Shawn Mendes for the first time," Lucas joked. Eliott burst out laughing, noticing that they had a lot more in common than they thought.

 

"You too? I thought I was the only one!" This brought on a wave of giggles from Lucas, his face turning red and he couldn't even close his mouth.

 

"I feel like he was many peoples gay awakening, don't you think?"

 

"Oh, one hundred percent, look at that face!" He was about to ask Lucas back to his flat, but he realized that he didn't have any food there, so he did the next best thing to spend more time with Lucas. "Okay, this is going to sound so stupid and weird, but how would you, Lucas Lallemant, like to go… grocery shopping with me?"

 

Lucas snorted at him, slowly making his lips turn into a smile. "I would be honored, Eliott Demaury."

 

"”Good, because I have literally no food, and I haven't gone grocery shopping in ages." He got up from his seat, took the straw out of his cup and began chugging the remnants of his coffee, and eating the remaining whipped cream in the cup with his spoon. Lucas stared at him as if he had just grown a second head.

 

"Well that what a show to watch, let me just say," Lucas said once Eliott was done, and proceeded to slurp away at his chai tea latte until all that was left was the ice in the cup. Once he finished, he shot up from his chair like a spring, flung his backpack over his shoulder and made his way towards the door, opening it and waiting for Eliott to go ahead of him. Eliott grabbed his school bag from off the floor and walked through the door, thanking Lucas while doing so.

 

The Franprix was right around the block from the cafe, so it wasn't a long ways away. The walk to there was spent with the occasional brushing of fingers, teasing mainly coming from Lucas, and cute warm smiles coming from Eliott, who was absolutely ecstatic at that moment. Grocery shopping was a couples thing, wasn't it? He did not know of anyone his age who went grocery shopping with friends, besides just going to cart-surf down the aisles.  _ Goddammit Eliott, he is just your friend, that's all.  _ He didn't mind what they were, as long as he would finally have some food at his flat. He was getting sick of take out. 

 

Once they entered the Franprix, Eliott grabbed a cart (or really a basket on wheels. what even is that thing?) and headed to the candy aisle first, since it was the most important (obviously). He grabbed some chocolates and chocolate chip cookies, okay maybe too many cookies, and put them into the cart. Lucas, on the other hand, grabbed a fuckton of gummy worms and dumped them into the cart. He looked up to see Eliott furrowing his eyebrows at him, face full of curiosity.

 

"What? Everyone likes gummy worms." Lucas shrugged.

 

"True." Eliott left them in the cart and made his way to the next aisle, which contained anything breakfast related. Lucas ran straight towards the cereals and grabbed a family sized box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. When he saw that Eliott didn’t object, he put them in the basket with all their sugary glory. 

 

“Do you like Pop Tarts?” Lucas asked, pointing to where they were located in the aisle. 

 

Eliott nodded like a five year old who wanted to stay up past their bedtime. Then, Lucas went to where the Pop Tarts were, took the cart with him, and wiped out the entire shelf off Pop Tarts into their cart. “Perfect, That should last you for a while, don’t you think?” Lucas asked teasingly. “At least a month, unless your a Pop Tarts fanatic, which in that case, they should last you about a week. Maybe two if you’re lucky, though.”

 

“Lucas! I didn’t want that many in my cart, you hooligan.” Eliott cried out. 

 

Lucas began going to the freezer section, trying to get away with not putting the Pop Tarts back on the shelf. 

 

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going, Mr. Lallemant? Come back here and help me put the millions of Pop Tarts you put in the cart back on the shelf or else!” Eliott exclaimed, waiting for Lucas to get his ass back over there. 

 

Lucas sighed and made his way back to Eliott. He stopped before he could complete the distance though, and smirked, eyes looking mischievous. “Or else what?” He challenged. 

 

Unfortunately for Lucas, Eliott already had something in mind that would hopefully work on Lucas. 

 

Before Lucas could even blink, Eliott was running over to him. “This!” Eliott yelled out, and began to tickle the shit out of Lucas. As soon as he started, Lucas broke out into the most beautiful fit of laughter that Eliott had ever heard. Yes, Eliott knew it was just a laugh. So there shouldn’t be anything special about Lucas’ laugh then, right? Wrong. So, so, so wrong. 

 

To Eliott, Lucas’ laugh was the most precious, adorable, cute, happy, and nicest thing in the whole universe. Screw galaxies, because Lucas’ laugh was so much better. Why did Eliott care so much about his laugh? Well for starters, it was the best sound Eliott has ever heard. It was like music to his ears. Fuck Adele and Shawn Mendes’ voices because this sound that Lucas makes beats their vocals by light years. Second, his laugh was the kind of laugh that made others smile when they heard it. It wasn’t a cackled, out of breath, or snorted laugh; it was light, airy, fun, and happiness just spilled out of it. It came from the inner depths of his being. So you see, that’s why Lucas’ laugh was the best thing in the world to Eliott. Well, besides his blue eyes and brown hair. 

Eliott was so lost in thinking about Lucas’ perfect laugh, that he didn’t notice the display case they tumbled into accidentally. They knocked it over and fell down with it, ending up on the floor of the supermarket. Eliott had yet to release Lucas out of his grasp, still tickling Lucas as much as he could. The position they ended up on, on the floor, was a bit strange. Lucas had his back to the floor, and Eliott was right on top of him, hands on Lucas’ rib cage because that’s where Eliott found he was the most ticklish. But what was weird was how much their legs were entangled. So much so, that you couldn’t tell whose leg was whose. 

 

Lucas was on the verge of screaming, and Eliott really didn’t want to get kicked out just for tackling someone to the ground with tickles, so he stopped and got up. But since their legs were so entangled, he tripped himself with Lucas’ legs and fell backwards onto his back. 

 

Lucas was out of breath, but managed to get up and stay up. He looked at Eliott with his eyes narrowed down. “That’s what you get for tickling me. What the fuck was that for anyways?”

 

Lucas offered Eliott a hand to get up, and Eliott gladly took it. “I tickled you because you didn’t want to help me put back the Pop Tarts on the shelf.”

 

“Oh yeah! I forgot about that.” Lucas says, eyeing the cart. 

 

“We still have to put them away, come on.”

 

“Ugh, fine. Just so you don’t tickle me again. God, I hate being tickled.”

 

They put back every single Pop Tart on the shelf and once they were done with that task, Eliott felt his phone ping. He pulled it out of his back pocket and saw that he got a message from Sofiane. 

  
  


**Sofiane**

_ dude where’d you go?  _

_ you weren’t at lunch  _

_ or in philosophy  _

_ hello??? _

 

_      i might have ditched… with Lucas  _

 

_ what? why? _

_ is everything okay? _

 

_      we ditched bc he needed a break _

_      from his friends, i mean _

_      we’re at Franprix right now tho _

 

_ may i ask why? _

 

_      i ran outta food at the flat _

_      and I’m sick of having take out _

 

_ aha  _

_ i see… _

_ you’re too good for take out pizza _

_ understood _

 

_      hahaha _

_      very funny  _

_      do you want somethin from here?  _

_      there's lots of food around _

_      it’s like food heaven _

 

_ *eye rolls into outer space* _

_ do you see any Nutella? _

 

_      um yeah. want some? _

__

_ yes please! _

 

_      gotcha. _

_      i’ll give it to you at work tomorrow _

 

_ thanks Eli! _

_ you’re the best _

_ and have fun with Lucas _

_ *wink wink _

 

Eliott rolled his eyes as he exited the chat with Sofiane. The audacity the kid had sometimes was insane. 

 

He turned to see Lucas staring at the granola bars, apparently deciding between almond butter ones, or peanut butter ones. In the end he chose almond butter and put it in the cart. 

 

“You seem like more of an almond butter kind of guy,” Lucas said, starting to walk into the next aisle down, pushing the cart. 

 

“I am, actually.” Eliott chuckles. “Oh, before I forget, we need to get some Nutella for Sof.”

 

“Okay, and get a jar for you too, while you’re at it. It’s delicious.”

 

“Will do,” Eliott says. 

 

They go through several more aisles, getting more things than necessary, but having a good time nonetheless. By the time they go to check out, they’ve filled two and a half carts worth of food. The cashier stared at them as if they had lost their fucking minds, but then began scanning their items. Eliott doesn’t think he’s ever seen such a high number to pay when grocery shopping, but at least he was using his parents’ credit card, one that they gave him to buy necessities, like groceries. They left Franprix with six bags in hand. 

 

***

 

Once they made it to the bus stop, they sat down and put the grocery bags on the floor, giving their hands a much needed rest. 

 

They sat in silence, and not long after, the bus arrived. They greeted the driver and made their way towards the back seats. And once they sat down, they let the grocery bags drop to the floor again. 

 

“So, have you had a boyfriend before?” Eliott asks, hoping he looks nonchalant (he doesn’t, but Lucas doesn’t point it out).

 

“Nope, But I’ve had lots of hookups.” Lucas responds, and when he sees panic flash over Eliott’s facial features, he continues on. “I don’t do it anymore, if that’s what you’re wondering. It was before I came out to people and I just wanted to be free. Be me. I did it during summer too, so it wasn’t like I did it on school nights. You?”

 

“Um, I’ve only had one long term relationship, and that was with my ex-girlfriend, Lucille. She was really controlling and I wasn’t happy towards the end, so I broke it off. After that, I hooked up a little bit with guys and girls.”

 

The bus arrived at Eliott’s stop before the conversation could get any more awkward. The boys grabbed the grocery bags from off the bus floor and headed out. Once they made it onto the street, Eliott led them to his flat, which was three minutes away from the bus stop. Someone was on their way out of the building, and Eliott took that opportunity to ask that person if they could hold the door for them. They did and Eliott thanked them before they left. They climbed up two flights of stairs to get to his flat. Eliott put down his grocery bags to unlock the door. 

 

When they both finally made it inside, they headed straight to the kitchen, not even taking off their backpacks. They placed all six grocery bags on the countertops, and started taking everything out of the bags they were in. Once everything was out in the open, they put their backpacks by the front door. Then, once back in the kitchen, they split up, with Eliott on pantry duty and Lucas on fridge duty. 

 

After about ten minutes of nonstop work, Eliott’s food supplies had finally replenished. To celebrate, Eliott made them both s’mores flavored Pop Tarts while Lucas sat down at the table, scrolling through Instagram. Eliott made sure he wasn’t facing the smaller boy, and smiled. He was so happy. Yes, today started out rough, but they both managed to make each other feel better by talking it out and having a blast grocery shopping. Okay, and maybe they cart-surfed a few times, but no one needs to know that; especially not the part where Eliott leaned too far back and ended up falling backwards with the cart almost landing on top of him if Lucas hadn’t been alert and caught it at the last minute. That part would just stay between the two of them (and the security cameras). 

 

Eliott fell even harder for Lucas today as well. And it had nothing to do with feeling bad for him or anything, but how he still carried himself upwards after all of his family problems. It must’ve been tough, Eliott thought, to have to deal with someone who you’ve known all your life, and lived with, to suddenly want to disassociate themselves from you and your mom. It must have hurt. And yet, Lucas became tougher because of it. Yes, Eliott could tell it left him with the fear of people leaving him, but he came out stronger in the end. Taking care of someone, no matter what they’re dealing or not dealing with, is a very difficult task, moms would know. And for Lucas to do that for a year, it made him tough, inspiring, and strong.

 

And to top it all off, he was an amazing person, inside and out. He visited his mom as much as he could, and he didn’t even resent his friends after what they did to him this morning. All Eliott could do was drown Lucas in his fondness for him. 

 

The  _ ding _ of the toaster brings Eliott back to the scene in his kitchen. He goes to fetch two cardboard plates and napkins. Then, he comes back to the toaster and takes out the Pop Tarts, putting two on each plate. He goes to the table Lucas’s sitting at currently, sits down across from him, and plops one of the plates in front of the blue eyed boy. He puts his own in front of him and dives in. 

 

“Eliott,” Lucas starts, and Eliott swallows and looks at him in the eye, “I know I already told you this earlier, but thank you. Thank you so much. You didn’t have to talk to me in the cafeteria today. You didn’t need to offer yourself up to ditch school with me. You didn’t need to pay for my drink. You didn’t need to listen to my backstory or what happened this week. And you certainly didn’t have to grocery shop with me, even though that was the best experience I’ve ever had in a grocery store. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I don’t know why you’re so nice and generous to me. And it’s not just today either. You’ve been nice to me since the day I met you. So thanks. Thank you for listening, and thanks for caring.”

 

Eliott was touched. But it really wasn’t a problem. Eliott wanted to. He wanted to be there for Lucas in a way that others couldn’t. And to see that Lucas was thankful for it, touched his heart. So with a reassuring look, all he could muster up without his voice betraying him was, “Thanks for letting me be there for you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. And also, please let me know if you want this fic to be mainly fluff and some light angst, or if you’d like to start seeing hella angst in the comments. I don’t know which way to go and I’d like any opinion offered. Thanks!❤️❤️
> 
> And idk if anyone noticed but I keep changing the chapter titles. I was trying to find ones that fit this fic the best and I found it. So if you couldn’t tell I’m using lyrics from Creep by Radiohead


	6. in a beautiful world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliott’s falling for Lucas even harder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I love when the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters all take place on the same day😂  
> This ones a bit longer than usual (4.4k)  
> I’ll try to update soon.

After they’d both finished their Pop Tarts, Eliott threw away their paper plates and told Lucas that they could hang out in the living room for a while, drink beer, and listen to music. Lucas thought it was a good idea and they split off: Eliott in search of some beer in his fridge, and Lucas to get settled in the living room. When Eliott went out of the kitchen, he saw Lucas staring at his drawings he had pinned up on the wall. He hoped Lucas didn’t think he was that bad of an artist, it would crush him. 

 

Eliott made himself known by clearing his throat. Lucas turned around, a fond smile taking place. “Here you go, one beer for a Lucas Lallemant at your service.” He handed a chuckling Lucas one of the beers he had in hand. 

 

“Thanks.” His mouth was still slightly open, meaning he wanted to say something else. He turned to look back at the drawings and asked, “Did you draw these?” 

 

Eliott saw that there was no point in denying it and hoped for the best. “Yeah. I did.” He paused for a second before adding, “These ones are old though, I’m much better at drawing myself now.”  _ Oh shit. Did I just let that slip out? Crap.  _

 

Lucas looked bewildered for a second, before regaining control of his features. “Wait, those are all you? You’re the badger?” He said, pointing to all the drawings.

 

Eliott wanted to scream at him for a second, ‘That’s not a badger! It’s a raccoon!’ But he didn’t, and explained it with a more calm approach. “It’s not a badger, silly. It’s a raccoon. It’s my spirit animal.” Eliott said, a proud look on his face. 

 

“Wait, let me get this straight. The raccoon is your spirit animal?” Lucas questioned, still slightly confused, but also with a determination in his eyes to try and understand what Eliott is telling him. 

 

“Yes, the raccoon is my spirit animal. They’re awesome! Plus, they wear masks,” he moved his hand up to his face to show where the raccoon’s mask is, “so what’s not to like?” Eliott added on at the end.

 

Lucas was all but endeared at this point. He giggled as he replied. “I must say, you have a point. Raccoons are pretty cool. You had me at ‘they wear masks’ and anything that wears a mask it pretty much cool in my book.” Lucas was probably joking but Eliott couldn’t care less. Lucas seemed to be interested in the idea and didn’t think it was odd, so that was a win for Eliott.

 

“See? I told you!” Eliott exclaimed. 

 

“To be honest, these are really good, Eliott. When I walked in here they were the first thing to catch my eye. You’re a good artist.” Lucas commented, looking at Eliott directly in the eye.  _ Well, at least he didn’t crush me _ , Eliott thought, _ but now I’m getting shy again _ . 

 

Eliott averted his gaze to the floor and felt his cheeks heat up.  _ No, stop blushing, dammit.  _ He mumbled a sheepish, “Thanks,” and went to take a sip of his beer. Halfway into swallowing it, he almost chokes when Lucas speaks up again. 

 

“And if you had to draw me? How would you do it?” Lucas asks, Eliott struggling to know where he finds such utter confidence out of thin air. 

 

He manages not to choke in front of Lucas, thank god, and stares at him for a moment. He wasn’t just about to blurt out, ‘A hedgehog duh! I even drew you during my art class one time. I have the paper in my bag, wanna see it?’ That would be highly embarrassing and really awkward and Eliott didn’t want to ruin the mood. So after a few beats pass, he says, “I don’t know.” He takes another sip of his beer. “I’d have to think about it.” And as soon as he finishes that statement, Lucas has the audacity to wiggle his eyebrows and plant a gigantic smirk on his lips.  _ How can he be so good at flirting? I didn’t even say anything that flirtatious!  _ Eliott almost chokes again, but keeps it in, not wanting to put Lucas through that whole fiasco again like the first time they met. 

 

Eliott thought it might be good to change the topic of conversation because at one point he would actually choke, and that wouldn’t be a nice sight to see. He really wanted to stop embarrassing himself, especially in front of his crush. “Man, I really wish we had some weed.” He voices out. 

 

He hears a huff of laughter coming from Lucas and sees him going to his backpack. He was about to ask what the fuck he was doing there, until he saw the bag of weed Lucas grabbed from inside. 

 

“Don’t worry,” Lucas started, “the weed’s on me, my fellow weirdo.” He smiled and walked over to where he was previously, giving the bag to Eliott, who was shocked to say the least. He opened up the bag and his eyes blew wide open. 

 

“Wow, you were not kidding!” He laughed, smelling the strong scent of weed from the bag. Lucas laughed with him, hitting him on the arm and saying, “It’s not going to roll itself up into a joint, you know?” 

 

Eliott laughed once more at that, seeing how impatient Lucas was for a joint. It was oddly adorable. Yet again, to Eliott, everything about Lucas was adorable. 

 

***

Lucas was in the middle of telling a story about when he hooked up with a guy before he came out and Eliott was following his every word, every action, every flash of emotion, literally everything. He followed the way the light from outside hit his face and created this gold aura around him, making him look like an angel like the light at the cafe did earlier, the way he leaned back further on the couch every time he laughed, and the way the dust particles around him made Lucas seem a bit fuzzy, well, that might have been the effects the weed gave him, but Eliott couldn’t really tell then.

 

He was also paying attention to how he took a hit of the joint with ease every goddamn time. He also paid attention to how he blew out the smoke from his mouth, making it shoot out in a straight line instead of letting it disperse into the air at once. Eliott though he looked pretty hot, to say the least and was surprised that he hadn’t begun drooling at the sight. As he was talking he paused a few times to take a drag before finally passing the joint over to Eliott. 

 

“-cking swear, he was about to ask me to go back to his place, but then I threw up all over him as soon as he opened his mouth! It’s the funniest thing now, but then? I was terrified as fuck, and he looked like he wanted to rip my face off. He started to scream at me, saying, ‘This is a new pair of leather boots, you son of a bitch!’” He stopped for a second to catch his breath, both him and Eliott laughing at his story like madmen. “And I kid you not, I ran out of that bar as if my life depended on it. I kept going until I was sure nobody followed me, which was pretty impressive considering how drunk I was.”

 

“Damn, Lucas, I don't think my story even compares to yours. That was fucking hilarious!”

 

“I know right! Every single time I tell that story I win ‘funniest drunk story’ so at least it gets me some sort of reward now.” Lucas jokes. 

 

Eliott took one more drag from the joint before putting it on the ashtray on the coffee table separating him and Lucas. He hopped up out of the chair he was sitting in, wanting to listen to some music from his vintage record player. He went to the brown wooden shelf in the corner of the room right next to his piano, which is only ever used whenever his father comes over, since he’s the only person who knows how to play in his family. Once he reached the shelf he decided on what record he wanted to play. There were some classical vinyls laying around that would definitely destroy the vibe, so that was a no. He turned his head to the right and saw his favorite one out of all of them. His dubstep vinyl.  _ Perfect, now he’ll get to know more about me! _

 

It must’ve taken him awhile because he could hear Lucas hum the Jeopardy thinking song. He huffed a breath and turned around to an amused Lucas. “Took you long enough,” he states, and sits up a bit from the couch. “So, what are we gonna listen to? A little bit of Chopin?”  _ Who on earth is that?  _ Eliott thinks to himself before Lucas continues. “Or, no, no, no, no, no! I got it: a good old jazz song.”

 

Eliott has to laugh at that. “A good old jazz song. Really? You think I’m that corny?”

 

Lucas shrugged his shoulders a bit. “Um, no offense, but your record player isn’t helping you out in the slightest. You look like an antique collector with that thing.”

 

Eliott scoffs at that. “Well, listen to this.” He turned on the player and his favorite dubstep vinyl started playing. Once the beat dropped, Eliott chose to fuck it, and go ham, dancing like crazy in front of Lucas. He didn’t really care though, he was having a blast. He looked up to see Lucas, astonished, and staring right at him in disbelief. Eliott couldn’t hide the smile on his face even if he tried. Two of his favorite things, Lucas and dubstep, were in the same room as him. How could he not be happy?

 

He went back to the record player and turned down the volume a bit, loud enough to hear, but low enough to be able to talk. He made his way back to the chair he was sitting in and grabbed the joint. Lucas still looked a bit phased.

 

“Do you like it?” Eliott asked, wanting to know Lucas’ opinion. 

 

“Yeah, it’s cool. It’s not what I would usually listen to though,” Lucas mentions. 

 

“Oh really, then what kind of music is more your thing?”

 

“Uh, I don’t know, something more rock ‘n roll. Like Nirvana, The Stones, The Beatles,” he pauses, and adds with excitement, “The Clash!”

 

Eliott couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity to tease Lucas about his music taste. “Oh, and I’m the corny one?”

 

Lucas laughs, rolling his eyes. Eliott takes a hit from the joint in his hand. 

 

“I mean,” Eliott starts, blowing out the smoke through his nose, “I can put on some Queen for you if you’d like.” 

 

Lucas chuckled, shaking his head. “No, that’s okay. I like discovering new things.”

 

Eliott nodded and thought it was time to show off his smoke tricks (ones that Alex taught him but, seriously, no one needs to know that). He took another drag and when he exhaled, he blew out a smoke ring. He didn’t miss the way Lucas’ eyes darted down to his lips when he did so, and mentally patted himself on the back.  _ See Lucas? I have game too.  _

 

Eliott started bobbing his head to the music unconsciously, mouthing along every “don’t stop” that was playing. Lucas noticed and his eyes lit up. Before Eliott knew it, Lucas put one hand up to his ear, the other mimicking turning a disc in a turntable, trying to look like a DJ but failing miserably. Eliott thought the action was more cute than anything, but wasn’t blind enough to see that it was also a bit cringey. Oh well, everyone was a little cringey. 

 

Eliott took another drag before Lucas made grabby hands towards the joint, indicating that he wanted it. Eliott rolled his eyes playfully and relented. He passed the joint to him, knowing it was worth it when he saw the smile on Lucas’ face. He’d do anything to make that boy happy, Eliott was positive. 

 

***

The vinyl stopped playing a little while ago, it could’ve stopped twenty minutes ago or two. Eliott wasn’t sure, the weed made time go a little fuzzy. All he knew was that one of them needed to take out the disc before the static it was making would annoy him and he’d start ripping his hair out due to the sound. The problem was that he didn’t want to get up. More like couldn’t, actually, his body felt like it was glued to the couch, which he migrated to when they rolled up their third joint. The On my way! They were on now. 

 

A comfortable silence settled between the two boys, one that Eliott eventually broke, the static driving him crazy. “Fuck, we have to change the disc.” He said, taking another hit from the joint they had made a while back. 

 

Lucas side eyed him, looking hazy, almost as if he were a figure coming out of Eliott’s daydreams. He chuckles to himself, turning his entire head to face Eliott. “Man, you really don’t want to get up, do you?” He asked, already knowing the answer. 

 

“Yeah, no. Not at all. Zero.” Eliott replied, closing his eyes for a moment. 

 

Lucas sighed before slowly getting off the couch. He walked over to the record player, took out the vinyl, and placed it carefully onto the shelf in the corner of the room. When Eliott opened his eyes again, Lucas seemed to have stopped in front of the piano. Lucas turned back to look at him, curiosity showing in his eyes. 

 

“Do you play?” Lucas asked, skimming the lid of the piano with his fingers. 

 

Eliott huffed out a breath. “Well, I can say that my cover of Für Elise is something for sure. And I can also play the Star Wars theme, but I don’t want to impress you too much.” He joked. Lucas let out a nasally laugh and god, if that wasn’t the most precious thing Eliott’s ever heard, he didn’t know what was.

 

“Can I try?” And before Eliott could reply, Lucas already opened up the lid. 

 

“Yeah, go ahead.” Eliott gestured to the piano, but Lucas’ back was already turned to him, sitting down on the piano stool. 

 

Lucas’ fingers hovered over the keys, hitting three of them in a scale, seemingly unsure of his next move. 

 

Eliott took another hit of the joint before teasing Lucas for the second time. “I have a triangle if you’d prefer.”

 

Lucas looked at him and laughed, shaking his head a bit before turning back to the keys. He hit the same three notes, adding a fourth one in this time. Gradually, he increased his speed, hitting those same four notes before his other hand came into play. It sounded beautiful. Eliott couldn’t help but sit up, staring at the back of Lucas’ head in pure and utter awe, the music Lucas made putting him in a trance.  _ What can’t this boy do? _

 

Then, out of nowhere, Lucas looked back to gauge Eliott’s reaction, to see whether it was good or bad; whether or not he should keep going. Eliott tried to give him a smile of encouragement, one that read ‘keep going!’, but all that came out from his end was his mouth dropping open in a semi-smile, his eyes piercing through Lucas’ own. He tried to convey how amazing Lucas was doing in one glance, which seemed to work, given the small smile on Lucas’ face before he turned around and faced the keys again to finish off the masterpiece. 

 

Eliott legitimately couldn’t believe what he was seeing. What he was hearing. What he was  _ feeling.  _ He’d never felt anything as strong towards anyone like he was in this moment, with Lucas playing his heart out on the piano in front of him. If he wasn’t sure how he felt about Lucas before, he did now. His heart was beating so fast, Eliott could’ve sworn it was about to leap out of his chest. 

 

That’s when it hit him. He was falling hard for Lucas. 

 

He was falling in love with him. 

 

And for some reason, one that Eliott couldn’t explain even if he tried his hardest, it didn’t scare him, not at all. If anything, it grounded him. It made him feel sure of himself. 

 

The last few months with Lucille were extremely confusing for Eliott. He didn’t even know what he felt for her. All he knew was that he wasn't as in love with her as he used to be, and hadn’t been for a long time. So that led him to question whether he was in love with Lucille, or just loved her. And yes, it was probably an easy question to answer, but Eliott had no fucking clue for awhile, until he finally understood. He wasn’t in love her anymore, but that still didn’t mean that he didn’t care for her. Yes, she made him feel miserable at times, but she tried her best. At the end though, it wasn’t a stable relationship for either of them and Eliott was glad it was over. There was no more uncertainty.

 

But with Lucas, it was a certain thing, not something that Eliott could overthink. And that made him even more happy, if that was even possible. 

 

Lucas finished his piece and Eliott was blown away.  _ Who knew one small body could store so much talent? _ He turned around to face Eliott hesitantly, not sure if Eliott liked it or not. 

 

“Wow,” was all Eliott could say before regaining his ability to talk. “That was crazy.”

 

Lucas looked a bit timid, and for once, Elliott could see a faint pink tint on Lucas’ cheeks. He made Lucas blush and it made Eliott want to squish his cheeks and kiss them. “It’s no Star Wars theme, though,” Lucas said, trying to lighten up the mood. 

 

Eliott wasn’t going to let that happen, however. He wanted Lucas to know just how good his piano skills were. So with all the confidence and boldness Eliott could muster he stared down Lucas in the eye and said to him. “You’re surprising.” He paused before adding, “ I like surprising people.”

 

Lucas had a fond expression in his eyes and the longer Eliott stared at his blue eyes, the more he realized that he couldn’t see any sadness peaking through. It was all gone. Eliott wanted Lucas’ eyes to be like that forever. He wanted all negative things out and all the positive things in. The moment lasted for a few more seconds, Eliott wished it would have lasted longer, just the two of them in their own little bubble. Unfortunately though, Lucas’ phone vibrated and he was the first to look away, standing up from the piano bench and going over to the couch to grab his phone instead. 

 

Lucas sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Shit,” he hissed.

 

“What’s wrong?” Eliott stood up from the couch and put a hand on Lucas’ shoulder. 

 

“Nothing.” Lucas lied, running a hand through his hair. Eliott shot him a  _ it’s not nothing _ look, and Lucas sighed again. “I forgot that it’s my friend Basile’s birthday party today. He wanted to have it at the rec center and I volunteered to help Sofiane set up. He wants me there in thirty minutes and I’m going to be late now.”

 

Eliott nodded, but didn’t want Lucas to go. He tried to school his expression and not let any sign of disappointment seep through, but it must not have worked. Lucas’ face softened and he hummed. 

 

“I can see that you don’t want me to leave. And truthfully, I don’t want to leave either. So I have a proposition for you.”

 

Eliott furrowed his eyebrows and squinted his eyes in confusion. “And that is that…”

 

“That is that you come with me and help set up with us. You need to give that jar of Nutella to Sofiane anyways. So, are you in?”

 

Eliott didn’t need to be asked twice. “I’m in.”

 

Lucas smiled with teeth and all and Eliott couldn’t help but reciprocate it back. 

 

Eliott went to take his hand off of Lucas’ shoulder, but decided to move it up to his hair the last second. He wanted to feel how soft it was, sue him. Not to be too obvious though, he took one strand of hair through his fingers. That way, it could look like he was trying to get a feel for which spirit animal Lucas should be. His hair was the softest thing that Eliott has ever felt in his life.  _ How is his hair so naturally soft? I want to have his hair in my hands forever!  _

 

He must’ve had his strand of hair in his hands for too long though because when he put his hand back down to his side, Lucas had a big smirk plastered on his face. “So do you have a hand kink and a hair kink?” He asked, his toned laced with amusement. 

 

Eliott’s cheeks flushed and he scoffed. “What? No, those aren’t my kinks.” He really should have thought about the phrasing in that sentence. 

 

“Oh, so you do admit to having a kink? Just not those two?” Lucas’ eyebrows shot up, a grin replacing his smirk from a few mere seconds ago. 

 

“No I don’t, Lucas!” He exclaimed. “Fuck off!”

 

Lucas giggled and  _ oh my god I’m melting.  _ “I’m just messing with you, Eli, chill.”

 

“Eli? Are you seriously gonna call me that now?”

 

“Yup.” He popped the p. “Sorry, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

 

Eliott rolled his eyes. Then, an idea came to him. “Okay, then. If you’re going to call me Eli, it’s only fair that I give you a nickname too.”

 

“Oh, yeah?” Lucas challenged. 

 

“Yeah. And I think I already have a good one for you.”

 

Lucas pursed his lips before speaking. “Really? And what is it, may I ask?”

 

Eliott smiled. “Well, since I’m nice, I’ll let you choose one, out of the two options I’m giving you…”

 

“...which are?” Lucas asked. 

 

“Either Lulu Or Lu. You can pick which one you like best.”

 

“Really, those are the only ones you could come up with? Seriously?”

 

“Yeah, and I’m not giving you anymore options.”

 

“I’ll think about it. Right now, we need to leave and make a pit stop at my flat.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I need to change my clothes.” Eliott gave him an amused stare. “What? I’m not going in sweatpants, you know that right? Even though I’m upset with him and the others, it doesn’t mean I’m not going to wear something decent.”

 

Eliott shrugged his shoulders in defeat. He went into the kitchen to grab Sofiane’s jar of Nutella and came out. “Okay, so your flat it is. Lead the way, please.”

 

***

 

Eliott and Lucas were walking side by side on their way to the bus stop, their arms occasionally brushing every now and then. The were telling each other some stupid stories about school until Eliott realized something when they made it to the bus stop and sat down in the seats. 

 

“Hey,” he started. “I know we talk with each other through Instagram, but can I have your actual contact in my phone? To make calls and stuff?” He hoped he didn’t sound as nervous as he was. 

 

“Yeah, sure. Here.” Lucas agreed and he opened his phone and passed it to Eliott. Eliott did the same with his. They exchanged their phones back a minute later after putting in their numbers and their bus arrived. The two hopped on and found seats in the back to sit in. Little did they both know, they both put each other’s contact as ‘weirdo<3’ because they put their phones away as soon as they saw the bus.

 

They continued chatting on the bus about the annoyance of some teachers when they made it to Lucas’ stop ten minutes later. They got out of the bus and a few minutes after that, they arrived inside of Lucas’ flat. 

 

Lucas went to a cardboard box next to the arm of the couch and pulled out some clothes. Eliott still couldn’t believe he lived on the couch, especially since he would give Lucas his own bed willingly any day of the week.  _ Who wouldn’t? _

 

“You can wait on the couch if you want, I won’t take too long.” Lucas said, pointing to the couch. “If you need anything, just knock on the bathroom door, which is right here.” He pointed to the bathroom and Eliott nodded. 

 

“Okay, thanks.” Eliott went to sit down on the couch and pulled out his phone. He opened his phone and saw that Lucas put himself as ‘weirdo<3’ in his contacts just like Eliott did in Lucas’ phone and smiled. That boy would be the death of him, surely. He then went onto Instagram and went to the explore page, looking at some posts when someone all but jumped onto the couch in the spot next to him. He turned off his phone and put it away, facing the excited guy he’s never seen before in his life. 

 

“Hi! I’m Mika. You’re new here, aren’t you?” Mika greeted. 

 

“Um, yeah. I’m Eliott and I’m just waiting for Lucas to change.”

 

“He usually only brings his loud annoying friends here. And you're not loud or annoying, as far as I can tell.” He began. “So, are you two together or something?” Mika asked, suspicion in his voice.

 

“No, no, no!” Eliott squealed. “Not yet at least.” And  _ oh shit, did I really just let that slip out in front of my crush’s flatmate? Fuck! _

 

“Not yet, huh?” Mika raised his eyebrows, slowly connecting the dots. “You like him, don’t you?”

 

Eliott swallowed. “Yes, but please don’t tell him. I don’t want to ruin what we have.” Eliott pleaded. 

 

“And what do you have exactly?”

 

Eliott sighed. “I honestly don’t know. All I do know is that it’s going good right now and I’d like to keep it that way.”

 

Mika smiled and put a reassuring hand on his back. “Okay, I won’t tell him and I wasn’t planning on doing so anyways. Just, be careful, and treat him right, okay?”

 

“Okay.”

 

Then, the bathroom door opened, revealing Lucas in a pair of black denim jeans and a blue denim button up shirt. He looked amazing. 

 

“I see that you already met Mika. I hope he hasn’t scared you off.” Lucas said. 

 

“Kitten!” Mika gasps, taking his hand off Eliott’s back in favor of putting it on his forehead, “Why on earth would you say that! I’m not scary!”

 

“I didn’t say you were, you just get up in everyone’s business, that’s all.” Lucas retorted. 

 

“Ouch, that hurts, kitten!”

 

“I’m just teasing you. Relax.” Lucas turns his head to Eliott. “Ready to go?”

 

“Yeah. It was nice to meet you Mika,” Eliott says. 

 

“You too, Eliott.” He winks at Eliott knowingly before heading into his room. “Have fun you two!” He calls out before he slams the door shut. 

 

“Let’s go, Eli.” Lucas says before he adds on more. “Oh yeah, I chose a nickname.”

 

“Which one would you like to be referred to as from now on?” Eliott asks. 

 

“Lu. Lulu makes me feel shorter than I already am for some reason, so I would prefer Lu.”

 

“Lu it is, weirdo.”

 

Lucas smiled at that. The two then headed out of the flat (aka the coloc™) and made their way to the rec center, where Basile’s party was getting set up for later that night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated  
> Please leave me any feedback or suggestions if you have any


	7. and i wish i was special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basile’s bday party whoop whoop  
> Le gang conflict gets resolved  
> Eli and Lu sneak out...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey peeps. I changed the format a bit and added time stamps. 
> 
> Also, happy late 4th of July to my fellow Americans. While I was writing this, fireworks were popping in the background and it was great timing
> 
> Also, happy Venezuelan Independence Day !

**Jeudi 17:03**

 

Lucas and Eliott finally made it to the rec center, a bit late, but there nonetheless. They sprinted all the way from the bus stop to the building only to find themselves panting, with hands on their knees as soon as they went inside, stopping just in front of the door. When they looked up from their positions, Sofiane was already there, hanging up some yellow colored streamers, standing on a ladder with his back turned to them. Somehow, he was too concentrated on hanging up the streamers and making them look perfect, immaculate even, to notice the two out of breath boys behind him. 

 

“Hey, Sofiane. Sorry I’m late.” Lucas said. 

 

Sofiane turned his head to the door, smiled, and began going down the ladder until he reached the floor. “No worries, Lucas. All that matters is that your here.” He pauses, and his smile stretches out even wider. “I see that you’ve brought Eliott along with you. I take it you two have gotten close, am I right?” He asks. 

 

“Yes, we have.” Lucas looks at Eliott and winks at him playfully. “Man, you’ve got to love Basile. The dude wants to have his birthday party thrown on his actual birthday and not during the weekend. So, basically, the people who are going to get shit faced drunk tonight will pay the price tomorrow, coming to school with a hangover, looking like a piece of crap found somewhere on the road.” Sofiane and Eliott agreed, chuckling at Lucas’ words. “So, Sofiane, before anyone forgets, Eliott has something to give you.”

 

Eliott flashed a smile and stepped forward. “Ah, yes, I do. Here,” Eliott holds his hand out revealing the jar of Nutella. “Your jar of hazelnut goodness.”

 

Sofiane gasped in excitement, taking the jar of hazelnut spread out of Eliott’s hands in the speed of lightning. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He rushed out, not being able to contain his joy. 

 

“You must really love Nutella, huh? I feel like you’re going to marry it one day.” Lucas teased. Sofiane rolled his eyes and sighed. “It’s not for me, if you must know.”

 

“Oh?” Eliott blurted out in surprise. “Then who is it for?”

 

Sofiane’s cheeks began to show a tint of pink. Lucas huffed out a breath and blinked. “Wait, let me guess. You asked Eliott to get you some Nutella for… Imane!”

 

Sofiane, at the bare minimum, looked flabbergasted; his eyebrows shot up to the ceiling like rockets, and his mouth hung open, looking more like a cave with every second that passed by. “How’d you know?” He gets out. 

 

“Well,” Lucas began, “I have a lot of classes with her and because of that we’re study buddies. We know each other a lot just from our study sessions and she always tells me how much she craves Nutella when we don’t study at her house because I don’t have any in my flat. It’s not really that hard to guess from there.”

 

Eliott laughs. “You must really like her, huh? Getting her, her favorite snacks and everything. I never knew what love would turn you into but now I know.  And I wouldn’t change it for a thing. Love looks good on you.” He remarks, patting Sofiane on the shoulder. 

 

“Thanks.” Sofiane responds, showing both a toothy smile and crinkled eyes. “It looks good on you too.”

 

Eliott’s jaw dropped to the floor, eyes wide with shock. As soon as Sofiane caught what he said, he cursed under his breath. “I mean,” he tried to backtrack, his eyes boring into the floor. “That uh, just - fuck - you know what, guys? Just forget I said that. Please - for both your sakes. I didn’t mean to let that slip out.” Sofiane stumbles through that entire thing and when he finished, he looked up to see Lucas and Eliott staring at him, speechless.  

 

An awkward and uncomfortable silence settled upon them, and after a while, Lucas broke it, for the better good. 

 

“Okay…..” he dragged on. “Well, these streamers aren’t going to hang themselves.  So Sofiane, you can continue working on that, please, if you don’t mind. And Eliott, you can clear some space to make it more party-esk and dance-able. Basile will lose his damn mind if there’s not some sort of makeshift dance floor tonight; he’s been telling us how much he wants to dance with Daphy since before they started dating. I will go to fill a cooler with ice since my friends are bringing a shit ton of alcohol. Got it?”

 

The other two nodded, not wanting to make this situation any weirder than necessary, and got to work. Sofiane with the streamers and Eliott with the dance floor. 

 

***

**Jeudi 18:04**

 

It only took them an hour, but finally, they finished decorating the rec center for Basile’s party. Thank god. It was filled with yellow streamers hanging from the ceiling, since yellow was his favorite color. It also had a spacious open area, thanks to Eliott, who only embarrassed himself one time when sitting on the plastic table he forgot was broken, and fell. He also put a functioning table against one of the walls, filled it with cups and shot glasses (Sofiane bought some on his way to the rec center), and put the coolers Lucas brought in beside it, so the whole thing would work as a mini bar. Sofiane went all the way out with party decorations besides the streamers. He bought a disco ball, some laser lights,  and five Bluetooth speakers, to make the party all the more entertaining and enjoyable. 

 

They also hung up a banner saying, ‘Happy Birthday  Dumbass  Basile! Alcohol is waiting for you!’ And yeah, it really had ‘dumbass’ crossed out on it. Apparently it was a joke between Lucas and his friends, but he didn’t really know. 

 

Lucas had informed Eliott, with time, that Yann and Arthur would come earlier than the rest because they were bringing the alcohol. Eliott offered to bring both of them to the coolers and help them dump the beers and liquors into them, so Lucas wouldn’t have to experience another trip to awkward-ville. Lucas looked so grateful then, that Eliott was sure his heart eyes popped out of their sockets. But if Lucas saw that, he didn’t mention it. 

 

Sure enough, at 16:05, Arthur and Yann came up with so much alcohol, that Eliott could already tell that his Friday would be miserable and shitty from a hangover. At least he’d have a good Thursday night partying though. But he was pissed at Basile for being stubborn and having his party on a Thursday, and Eliott didn’t even know the guy. In all seriousness, why couldn’t he have waited at least one day before having a party? 

 

He opened the door for Lucas’ friends, grabbing two of the beer crates from Yann to help, and ushered them to where the coolers inside the rec center. It was going smoothly and no one said a word to each other besides a mumbled ‘thanks’ or a ‘can you grab this for a second?’ And frankly, Eliott was mad at them for not hearing Lucas out, and he wanted them to know, even though they had no fucking clue as to who the hell Eliott was. But don’t fret, he had a plan. 

 

“Dickheads,” Eliott muttered when they finished dumping all the alcohol into the coolers, hoping one of them heard and would push him on. 

 

Luckily Arthur did just that. “Excuse me? What did you say?”

 

Eliott scoffed and his friendly stare turned into a glare full of tension in a blink of an eye. “I said,” he paused for dramatic effect and tilted his head to the side, his glare growing more intense, “that you guys are dickheads.” He said it much louder this time. 

 

Yann huffed a breath and raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “Oh yeah, and why is that?”

 

“We don’t even know you!” Arthur added before Eliott could go off Yann. 

 

Eliott rolled his eyes. “My name is Eliott. And you guys are Yann and Arthur, or as I like to call you, dickheads or douchebags.”  _ Jesus, why am I acting so petty? _

 

“What?” Arthur said, confusion appearing on his face. 

 

“How do you know our names?” Yann asked, his voice in a bit of a worried tone. 

 

“Well, you guys are friends of Lucas’s, right?” They nodded, a bit to vigorously, but Eliott didn’t care. He wanted these guys to know what they did. “You guys were the ones who caused all that fucking commotion in the courtyard this morning and hurt him!” No one spoke out so Eliott went on. “You know, he was really pained from you guys. Yeah, he does have some family issues but he was actually with his mom this time, just like all the others where you thought he was lying his ass off as well! What kind of friends are you? Do you even know Lucas enough to assume he’s not lying all the time?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“He told me how you think he doesn’t want to hang out with you guys so he pulls out the ‘family card’. Well I’m here to say that’s not true. And maybe, just maybe, you guys can actually hear him out before coming to your own god damn conclusions about how shitty a friend he is. Because by the looks of it, you guys are the bad ones, not Lucas.”

 

“How do you know all this?” Yann asked. “He didn’t tell us anything this morning.”

 

“By listening to him, instead of shutting him off and not letting him speak like you guys did. He even told me before today that you guys probably wouldn’t react the greatest. So grow a freaking pair, and apologize because he did nothing wrong. You know, he’s more of a man than you lot will ever be. He even helped set up your friend, Basile’s, birthday party even though he’s pretty sure the three of you are pissed at him.”

 

“Umm - we didn’t - shit -”

 

“He’s right, Arthur, we need to talk to him. Thanks, Eliott,” Yann said gratefully, grabbing Arthur’s hand and tugging him with. Eliott could tell he was probably the voice of reason in their group.  

 

“No problem!” He called out in response, his glare wearing off and turning into his usual happy, soft stare. 

 

***

**Jeudi 18:28**

 

Twenty minutes passed, and Eliott was smoking a cigarette right outside the rec center, leaning against the building, with Sofiane right next to him texting Imane, if his enormous smile was anything to go off of. Eliott had his eyes closed, thinking of a certain blue eyed boy, and the day he spent with him. It was incredible, to say the least. They skipped school, went to a cafe, Lucas opened up to him, they went grocery shopping, fucked around, they hung out at his place, and he was lucky enough to hear Lucas’ phenomenal piano skills. Now, he was still spending the day with him, even though Lucas wasn’t near his vicinity at the moment, or so he thought. 

 

“Eli?” Eliott recognized that voice instantly, keeping his eyes closed.

 

“Lu?” Eliott opened his eyes to find Lucas staring at him with a fond expression. He dropped his cigarette on the ground and put it out with his foot. “What’s up?” Sofiane turned to the two and raised an eyebrow, but they didn’t pay him no mind, they were too consumed in their own little world to see him.

 

“You talked to them didn’t you?” Lucas stated.

 

Eliott furrowed his brows, cocked his head a little to the side, and feigned confusion. “Sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

Lucas smiles and rolls his eyes, but Eliott can see it wasn’t out of annoyance, but more out of exasperation. “No, dummy. I’m talking about how I was minding my own fucking business, dancing upstairs for a bit, well as much as I could in jeans, and then all of a sudden Yann and Arthur burst into the studio and give me the most bone-crushing hugs ever, apologizing for this morning and for being bad friends.” He stopped, and carded a hand through his hair, scoffing. “I mean, they even heard me out and I could finally tell them everything. And then they apologized again for not being there.  And then, Basile FaceTimed me out of nowhere, telling me the exact same thing. No offense, but they were pretty sure about themselves and the situation a mere few hours ago. So you talked to them, didn’t you?”

 

Eliott looked away, putting a mask of innocence over his features. “I might have done something of the sort.” He sighed, his eyes returning to Lucas’ like magnets, and he pierced his gaze. “I didn’t mean to meddle, but I just don’t think that’s something to lose your friends over, miscommunication, I mean.”

 

“Eli, you’re probably the best person I know right now, and haven’t even known you for that long, and it doesn’t even scare me. So thanks. Thank you for doing that and being there for me. I mean it.” He says seriously, not once looking away from Eliott.

 

And before Eliott even got a chance to respond, he was being pulled into a hug. He responded almost immediately when Lucas wrapped his arms around his midsection, and threw his arms around Lucas’ shoulders, pulling his face into the crook of his neck. It felt nice for both of them; it gave them some sense of relief weirdly enough. 

 

“Thank you, weirdo,” Lucas said so quietly, that if Eliott’s focus wasn’t 100% on Lucas, he would’ve missed it. 

 

“Anytime, weirdo.” He replied in the same volume. “Anything for you.” He added after a while, his tone quiet, but he knew Lucas heard him; he could tell in the way he squeezed Eliott tighter and pulled them together so no part of them wasn’t touching. 

 

Eliott wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that. It could’ve been minutes, hours, days; he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that when they broke apart, Sofiane was long gone. 

 

***

**Jeudi 19:30**

 

The party was kicking into gear now. Basile loved everything they did and set up, guests were arriving, people were mingling, and Eliott didn’t know anyone. Well, he knew Alex, Sofiane, Imane, and Lucas. The rest were unknown to him. He should probably pay more attention in school instead of drawing in his sketch pad. 

 

Eliott decided that he would go to the restroom, freshen up while he’s in there, because he preferred to go somewhere else instead of standing around like an idiot, like he had been doing for the last fifteen minutes. He went down one of the hallways in the rec center and entered the restroom. Once he walked inside, he slumped down the nearest wall he could find, pulling out his phone to go on instagram. 

 

And as if the stars aligned, one minute later Lucas entered, sitting down next to Eliott, peaking over his shoulder. 

 

“That hurts, you know.” Lucas comments. 

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You. Going on Instagram rather than hanging out with me.”

 

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Eliott retorts. “But I don’t know anyone here. Okay, I know some people, but they’re already talking to others and I don’t want to be a bother.”

 

“You are never a bother, Eli. Come with me, I will introduce you to my friends. You’ll love them, trust me.” Lucas stretched out his hand so Eliott could take it. He took it gladly, and the two walked out of the bathroom. 

 

***

**Jeudi 19:59**

 

Eliott was having a good time. He met Lucas’ friends, and they were incredibly welcoming. Manon was one of the sweetest people on the planet, acting as if Lucas was her brother, teasing him, caring for him, and being extremely protective of him too. He and Alexia got on great, joking about bi/pan solidarity and all that. Emma was a party goer for sure, and seemed pretty cool and bad-ass. Daphné, or as Lucas likes to call her, Daphy, was very high energy. She was very kind and would not stop talking about Basile, and their sex life, which made Eliott want to wash his ears and brains out. Imane was as awesome as always, and it was always fun to hang out with her, usually talking about school, or Sofiane and how teasable he is. 

 

As for the boys, they were nice too. Yann was a nice guy, funny, caring, protective, basically everything you’d want from a best friend. Arthur was more of a mom friend, yet still the funniest of the gang, and they got along in finding out they were both big fans of the same sports teams. Basile was a conversationalist, and a drinker. By the time Eliott met him, he was tipsy, and was on a rant, talking about how the car brand Mercedes, is an English company because, and Eliott quotes, ‘there aren’t any backwards Gs.’ He was fun to be around though, all of them were, and he was glad that Lucas was lucky enough to be their friend.

 

He was chatting to Manon at the moment, still nursing his first beer (he wasn’t near as drunk as he wanted to be), when Lucas scared the life out of him from behind. 

 

“BOO!” He screamed, right into Eliott’s ear, causing Eliott to jump out of his skin like a cat, and shriek like a five year old girl. 

 

“Jesus Christ! Lu, please don’t do that again,” He said as soon as his heart beat calmed down a bit and stopped racing a thousand miles an hour. He saw Manon laughing her ass off out of the corner of his eye. “And Manon, stop laughing! It wasn’t that funny!”

 

“Oh, but it was,” she replied, her giggles have yet to come to a halt. “You should have seen your face!”

 

“And heard your shriek!” Lucas remarks, keeping his chuckling to a minimum. 

 

He groaned, chugging the rest of his beer. “Second years are the worst.”

 

“Hey!” Manon exclaimed, not actually mad. 

 

“I’m just saying…” he trailed off, leaving in suit of getting some shots down and into his system. He didn’t get very far though, feeling someone tug at his shirt. He turned and saw that it was Lucas with a mysterious glint in his eye. 

 

“You okay, there? Was scaring me not enough for you?”

 

“Wanna sneak out?”  _ Okay, straight to the point then.  _

 

Eliott liked the idea even though he was actually starting to have fun at Basile’s party. 

 

“What about your friends, though?” he asked. 

 

“Well, they are all pretty drunk right now and somehow, I am not. And I can see that you’re not either. Basile even gave me permission to, okay that might be his drunk self talking, but still. Plus, it’ll be fun.”

 

And how could Eliott resist? He simply couldn’t. 

 

“Okay. Let’s go, Lu.” Eliott said. 

 

“Come on then!” Lucas grabbed his wrist and then they were running out of the rec center and onto the streets of Paris, where the sun was beginning to set. 

 

***

**Jeudi 20:27**

 

Eliott had no clue as to where they were. They had been wandering down the Parisian streets for a while now, not really talking, but admiring the view of the setting sun. It gave the city a warm feel, and gave off a nice ombré of colors: from yellow to orange, to pink, to purple. It was a stunning sight. 

 

They were nearing a park of some sort, that, Eliott could tell; he could see the benches surrounding the perimeter and the mini garden in the center, lush and green with vegetation.

 

“Here we are!” Lucas exclaims, circling around Eliott as if he were a predator and Eliot was his prey. “This is my favorite place in Paris. It’s where I come to relax and think.”

 

“You like to think at a park? What about the annoying-ass pigeons that come up to you and disturb you? And poke you and steal your bread? And won’t leave you alone no matter how many times you try to get away from them? God, they’re always there!”

 

“Do you not like pigeons or something? I feel like you have a big vendetta against them.”

 

“Oh I despise pigeons, Lu. They are the worst birds ever. Fuck them.”

 

“Well you better thank the gods that I've never seen pigeons in this park before.”

 

“Good, they don’t deserve the light of day,” Eliott shudders and Lucas laughed, god he hated pigeons.

 

The sky has turned a bit darker, clouds appearing more gray by the minute. 

 

After walking into the park and sitting down on one of the green benches, Lucas speaks up. “You’re the first person I’ve brought here actually.”

 

“Really? Not even your friends?” Eliott asks curiously.

 

“Nope. You’re the first.” Lucas smiles at him. 

 

The sky has darkened up a lot more, and the gray clouds were covering most of it. Thunder struck once, and the mood of the setting was changing significantly. 

 

Lucas stands up, walking to the middle of the park where the mini garden was, Eliott hot on his heels. It began drizzling rain, though it was nothing to worry that much over. 

 

“Give me your hands,” Lucas said, and Eliott obliged, putting his hands out in front of Lucas. Lucas grabbed them, putting Eliott’s left hand on his shoulder, whilst putting his right one on Eliott waist. On the other side, he intertwined their fingers together. Eliott’s heartbeat began rising at that moment. “Let’s dance.”

 

And before Eliott knew it, Lucas was guiding them through a slow dance. He would never stop being surprised by Lucas, Eliott was sure of it. He was unsure, though, on how to go with this, he had no dance experience and was not the most graceful person. 

 

As if Lucas could sense this he said, “I’ll lead, don’t worry. All you have to do, is follow my steps.” 

 

He was following Lucas’ steps for a bit and was dancing, forgetting about everything else, just living in this moment. Screw the rest of the world, this is the only thing that matters right now. Just him and Lucas. And then, the rain began to pour down harder. 

 

At that moment, Lucas and Eliott looked into each other’s eyes, both of them showing vulnerability yet want at the same time in their gazes, and Eliott knew. It was now or never.

 

He’s never cupped someone’s face so fast in their life. Lucas put his hands into Eliott’s hair, and they were still staring at each other. He doesn’t know who moved first, maybe they did at the same time. All he knew was that his lips met with Lucas’ in a searing, frantic, desperate kiss. It was long overdue, Eliott thinks, and the kiss showed. It was sloppy, messy, and yet perfect at the same time. Eliott wouldn’t change a thing. Teeth were clashing into each other from smiling, lips were being bitten, and hands were everywhere. 

 

At some point they broke apart, needing to come back up for air. They looked at each other, shaking their heads in utter disbelief. They couldn’t believe it finally happened. And it didn’t fucking matter that they were being drenched in the rain, nothing would ruin this moment in time. 

 

Their lips met, once again with the same amount of passion as before. It was like kissing each other was a vital need to live. If they didn’t do it, they would drown. Lucas licked the seam of Eliott’s mouth and Eliott granted him access instantly. Soon, everything was in phync. Their lips, their breathing, everything. It was like they were meant to be together. They broke apart, gasping for air, resting their foreheads on the other’s. From there, Lucas hugged him, his face sliding into the crook of Eliott’s neck smoothly, like a puzzle piece. Eliott warped his arms around Lucas, never wanting to let go. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May or may not update for a while so...  
> Feedback is always appreciated 
> 
> Tumblr - @veron104


	8. you’re so fuckin’ special

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s Samedi 9:17 time bishes
> 
> sorry for not updating, my summer class has been hell, giving me way too many exams, stress, anxiety, anxiety attacks, and all that good stuff :)
> 
> also, this one is dedicated to timy, i love this girl with all my heart, you’d know if you see my tumblr page. she’s been so supportive and loving of this fic and I can’t think and her enough. ily girl❤️❤️
> 
> Anyways..... enjoy!

**Jeudi 21:21**

 

It stopped raining a couple minutes ago, but Lucas and Eliott didn’t notice. They were too busy basking in the other’s presence to notice such a thing. Currently, Eliott’s eyes were closed and his arms were slung over Lucas’ shoulders. Lucas was standing on his tippy-toes and his hands were on Eliott’s neck as he was peppering pecked kisses all over Eliott’s face; his temples, his cheeks, his nose, his chin, his forehead, his nose again, his eyelids, and his nose again for a third time, but this time repeatedly. 

 

Eliott felt as though he was on cloud 9 when he opened his eyes, chuckling with fondness as he said, “You like my nose don’t you?”

 

Lucas’ face broke into a small grin. “What gave it away?”

 

Eliott pretended to consider his question for a bit before answering. “Well, it might be the fact that you keep kissing it, don’t you think?”

 

Lucas giggled, his grin growing impossibly wider, and Eliott was about to make a ‘Lucas Lallemant smile’ fanclub right then and there. “Hm, maybe, but I don’t think it’s as notable as your thing for my hands.”

 

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?” Eliott sighed, but he didn’t really mind it. He thought it was a little funny.

 

“Nope, but don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

 

“That’s good to hear. I was afraid that that piece of information would ruin my reputation.” Eliott joked. 

 

By now, the two were laughing like idiots even though what Eliott said wasn’t really all that humorous. It was as if they were high. Well, technically they were: they were high on each other. As soon as their laughter died down, Eliott leaned down to give Lucas a chaste kiss, moving his hands up to cup Lucas’ face. And then he kissed him again. And again. And again. It was getting a bit ridiculous, but that didn’t matter. It felt like they waited for so long to do this, even though they’ve known each other for less than a week. It was weird, but then again, they liked weird. 

 

“If you want to know,” Eliott started, “it’s not your hands I have a thing for.”

 

“Oh yeah? What do you have a thing for then?” Lucas questioned, wanting to know where Eliott was going. 

 

“Your eyes, your smile, your hair, your laugh, your smirk, your jokes, your heart. Do you want me to keep going?” Eliott raised his eyebrows, as if to say ‘I could do this all night’. Then, he saw a sight he never thought he’d see again in a million years: Lucas blushing. 

 

He couldn’t believe it. He made Lucas Lallemant blush for the second time today. It was usually the other way around, they both knew it. Before he could stop it though, a smirk formed on Eliott’s face. 

 

“Did I, Eliott Demaury, make you, Lucas Lallemant, blush again? Am I seeing this right?” He teased. 

 

Lucas looked down, his face becoming even more pink, but all Eliott could see was beauty. He looked beautiful when he blushed, Eliott thought. 

 

“Maybe.” Lucas admitted shyly. “No one’s ever given me, that many compliments before. I’m not used to it.”

 

When Lucas looked up, all he could see in Eliott’s eyes was softness and kindness. “Well, you’re going to have to get used to it. That’s all you’ll hear from me.” Eliott started confidently. Lucas looked at him in awe. 

 

“Okay then. It’s going to be all you hear from me too.” Lucas said, his shyness from moments before disappearing. 

 

“Really?”

 

“Yup. Let’s see; I love your blue-grey eyes, they’re the most fascinating things in the world to me; I love your smile too, since it also makes your eyes crinkle and look brighter than the sun. I love your gravity defying hair, and obviously, none of those things compare to your kind hearted and spirited personality. I love it so much.” Lucas said and all Eliott could do was have his mouth hang, agape. He was shocked. 

 

When he regained his ability to speak, he commented, “Damn, I might have some competition in compliment department. You keep on surprising me, Lu. I like that.”

 

Lucas chuckled and looked up. His brows furrowed, and he looked a bit confused. “Hey, it stopped raining.”

 

This made Eliott look up as well, Lucas’ expression appearing on his face now. “When did this happen?”

 

“No clue, but I’m starting to get really fucking cold, so if you don’t mind, can we get out of here?” Lucas asked. 

 

As soon as Lucas said that, Eliott felt the coldness of his skin hit him rapidly, chills and goosebumps covering his arms. _Were they really that warped into each other they didn’t notice how freezing cold it became_? 

 

He nodded and said, “Good idea.”

 

“My place isn’t that far from here, if you want to stay the night.” Lucas suggested. “We can borrow Manon’s room, she told me she’d sleep over at Emma’s earlier today. And we can even skip school tomorrow if you want; the duvet cover is really nice, and so are the pillows.”

 

“Well who can say no to a nice duvet, pillows, and a cute guy?” He said with a wink, causing Lucas to blush again. Eliott was sure that Lucas blushing would always be one of his favorite things ever, and right now, he wasn’t wrong. “I’m going to make you get used to these compliments.” He murmured, making Lucas look at him. 

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

“Yeah.” And then Eliott joined their lips together for a closed-mouth kiss, forgetting about the cold when all he could think about was Lucas’ lips on his. He pulled apart after a moment, until he felt Lucas reeling him back in for another one. And another one. And another one. And one last one, until they finally broke apart, with Eliott in awe of Lucas’ blissed out state, knowing he probably had the same look on his own. 

 

“Let’s go then.” He said after a while of them just looking at each other with love in their eyes. Eliott was rubbing his thumb across Lucas’ cheek absentmindedly, thriving in their little bubble. _Can we stay here forever_ , he thought, not wanting to leave the moment. It was starting to get really cold though, and he sighed internally. _Not today, apparently._

 

He eventually took his hands off Lucas’ face and Lucas took his off of Eliott’s neck. Eliott then slung an arm over Lucas’ shoulders, finding the position rather comfy, while Lucas wrapped his arm around Eliott’s waist, pulling him a teeny bit closer, not that Eliott minded. 

 

“I like this.” Lucas stated out of the blue. 

 

“Me too. I think that it’s quite nice.”

 

“Just nice?” Lucas challenged.

 

“Even better. Wonderful.”

 

“You’re wonderful,” Lucas commented. 

 

“So are you,” Eliott shot right back. 

 

“Stop that, you’re making my cheeks hurt.”

 

“You make my cheeks hurt too. Consider this payback.”

 

Lucas laughed. “Whatever you say, Eli. But you’re still wonderful.”

 

“So are you.” _You’re the most wonderful thing I’ve ever known._

 

***

**Jeudi 22:02**

 

The walk back to Lucas’ flat took longer than expected. They would’ve made it back sooner, if they could keep their hands off of each other. Eliott knows he’s a touchy-feely person, but with Lucas it was on a whole other level. Every few minutes one of them would stop and kiss or hug the other, making their way to the flat take more time than needed. It was worth the extra time nonetheless, Eliott loved the affection, and could tell Lucas did too. 

 

As soon as they made it right in front of the building, Lucas turned to face Eliott. “Okay, so I told you I have three flatmates.” Eliott nods. “As you know, it’s a Thursday night, meaning everyone but Manon is already sleeping, since she’s probably still at the party, and either way, is not coming here tonight. That means we have to be quiet, and your clumsy ass can’t knock something over. Well, unless you want Mika to scream at you or for Lisa, the one you haven’t met yet, to hate you already.”

 

“I’m not that clumsy!” Lucas gave him a look and Eliott gave in, hands up in surrender. “Okay, maybe I am. But I won’t make any noise, I promise.”

 

“Then come on up.” Lucas grabbed his hand and opened up the building’s door with his key. They then headed up a few flights of stairs until they made it to the front door of Lucas’ flat. “I’m warning you, if any of them come out of their rooms because of you, you’re going home.” He even pointed a finger at Eliott accusingly. _The little shit._

 

“You wouldn’t do that.”

 

“True. But I might not share the duvet with you.”

 

Eliott gasped. “You wouldn’t.”

 

“Try me.”

 

Eliott huffed a breath and Lucas unlocked the door. He opened it, looked around inside, and grabbed Eliott’s wrist, dragging him in. 

 

Lucas made a pit stop at the couch, pulling out some sweats and t-shirts for the both of them out of one of the cardboard boxes. Then, the two boys made their way to Manon’s room, with Lucas locking the door as soon as they were both inside. 

 

“Here.” Lucas said, throwing some sweats and a shirt to Eliott. He caught them and turned around to put on the items of clothing. 

 

“You don’t have to do that, you know. It’s not like we’re getting butt-naked.” Lucas commented. 

 

“Sorry, I wasn’t sure if you’d be okay with it.”

 

“It’s fine. It’s like changing in the locker room, except it’s in front of one person, not several.” And who was Eliott to argue with that logic?

 

So he turned back around and got changed. He was shocked at how well Lucas’ clothes fit him. 

 

Lucas, as if he could read Eliott’s mind, said, “They fit you because they’re Mika’s. I stole them from him a while ago and he’s yet to realize it.”

 

Eliott snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”

 

Lucas shook his head, chuckling silently. “Just be glad they fit. I don’t need you judging me,” He joked. 

 

“Okay. Thank you.”

 

“For what?”

 

“Everything.” He paused. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone,” Eliott mentioned before he could stop himself. 

 

Lucas looked at him, eyes filled with adoration as he went to the right side of the bed, getting under the duvet. He patted the spot next to him, lifting the duvet as an invitation. Eliott took it gladly. 

 

When Eliott finished getting settled, he looked at Lucas, who was already looking back at him. “For the record, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before either.” He said, looking Eliott straight in the eye. Eliott’s breath hitched and he saw Lucas’ baby blue eyes show no sadness for the second time today. It was a sight to behold, a stunning one without a doubt. “How are the pillows?”

 

“Really fluffy, just how I like them.”

 

“Good. I knew you’d like them.”

 

“How the fuck would you know?” Eliott asked, eyebrows knitted down. 

 

“You look like someone who hates flat pillows. Don’t worry, I do too.”

 

“You got me there. Why do they even make flat pillows? They’re so uncomfortable!” Eliott exclaimed. 

 

“I know right, its like they only make them to annoy people,” Lucas concluded. 

 

They settled down into the mattress even more than they did a couple minutes ago, with the duvet covering them, their heads resting on pillows and were laying on their sides, facing each other. They were so close to each other, that Eliott could feel Lucas’ breath every time he exhaled. 

 

They stayed like that, eyes staring into the other’s, in complete silence. It was a very comfortable one, one where you wished the silence never ended. Eliott broke it after who knows how long. 

 

“Do you think we’re going to get sick tomorrow? Because of being out in the freezing cold while it was raining?” He asked. 

 

Lucas thought it over. “I think our chances of getting sick are pretty high, to be honest. We did the easiest things to get a cold too. But I wouldn’t change a single fucking thing.”

 

Eliott smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Me neither.”

 

He moved him hand to comb through Lucas’ hair, which was still a bit damp, just like Eliott’s was. Lucas moved his to Eliott’s cheek, cupping it. “Thanks for today, Eli. I think this has been the best day of my entire life. It started out horrible and shitty, but you helped make it better. I mean, look at me. I have the best guy ever, laying next to me in bed.”

 

“You don’t need to thank me. You’ve already done that. And you don’t have to do it anymore. I did what I did because I wanted to, and because you deserve it, okay?” _You deserve the world and more._

 

“Okay.”

 

And with that, Lucas leaned in to give Eliott one final kiss, slow and lovingly, tangling their legs together in the process. When they parted, they kept their foreheads resting on the other’s. It felt safe, loving, nurturing. It felt like home. And Eliott couldn’t have asked for anything more. He really couldn’t. 

 

He closed his eyes, Lucas doing the same. Now, exhaustion hit Eliott like a train at full speed, making him ready to go to sleep. Before he entered the world of dreams, though, he heard Lucas’ voice one last time. 

 

“Goodnight, weirdo.”

 

Eliott smiled a little, and responded. “Goodnight, weirdo.”

 

Sleep overtook the two boys faster than it had ever done before, and the two of them got the best night’s sleep they’d ever gotten, dreaming of each other and the memories yet to be made. 

 

***

~~**Samedi**~~ **Vendredi 08:54**

 

The early morning sunlight was coming in through the bedroom’s large window, casting a bright yellow hue onto some items in the room. Like the desk, the wooden floor, last night’s clothes scattered around the bed, the duvet. It looked comfy and homey, as if it were a scene coming from a high production movie. The almost transparent-like curtains helped make the room appear that way as well; they also made the setting look aesthetic too. It looked calming. Relaxing. 

 

Eliott and Lucas were lying on the bed, with last night’s dreams coming to an end-at least on Eliott’s behalf. Eliott woke up, rubbing his eyes, the grogginess ever so slowly drifting away and out of his body. He yawned and moved his hand to cover his mouth, a habit he developed when he was younger. For a second he forgot where he was, but then last night's memories flooded his brain like a tidal wave.  

 

Him. Lucas. 

 

Basile’s birthday party. Hanging out in the bathroom. Meeting Lucas’ friends. Sneaking out. 

 

Running to the park Lucas loves. Talking about his hatred of pigeons. 

 

Dancing a bit. 

 

Kissing. 

 

Hugging. 

 

More kissing.

 

Laughter. 

 

Compliments. 

 

Even more kissing. 

 

Walking to Lucas’ flat. 

 

Kissing so much to the point their lips bruised. 

 

Changing. 

 

Lying on Manon’s comfy bed. 

 

Late night conversations. Smiles. 

 

Silence. 

 

One last goodnight kiss. 

 

Falling asleep, dreaming about a certain blue eyed boy with messy, beautiful hair, with the most marvelous laugh in the galaxy.

 

Eliott smiled, he couldn’t believe his luck. He was on the bed with the best person he had ever met - sorry Sof. He was with Lucas Lallemant, and that made his heart swell with joy and happiness. 

 

More specifically, he was on Lucas’ chest, Eliott realized. He lifted his head up to see Lucas, still asleep - or at least that’s what it looked like - with his arm on Eliott’s back. He looked precious; vulnerable even. And Eliott so badly wanted him to stay like that for the rest of his life, until he took note that he’d never be able to talk to him again if that were the case. So the thought left his mind as quickly as it had entered. 

 

Eliott put his head back down onto Lucas’ chest, still a bit confused as to how he got there, but he wasn’t complaining. He liked it. It was as if Lucas became his safety blanket, or pillow. Plus, Eliott was a big cuddler, he loved being cuddled. (He’s a little spoon, sue him.)

 

He closed his eyes, in an attempt to go back to sleep, but nothing happened. He was just laying there, with his thoughts consuming him. 

 

_What’s Lucas dreaming of right now? Should I wake him up? No, let him sleep. He’s like sleeping beauty. Beautiful and sleeping. Should I make him breakfast? Actually, don’t. I can’t cook for shit. Well maybe he’d like my blueberry-bacon muffins? I don’t know where the ingredients are in his kitchen, though. God, this bed is really nice. So is Lucas. He’s the epitome of perfection._

 

_Can I stay here forever?_

 

After a while, or what felt like it, Eliott had no clue, he began tracing random squiggles and patterns on Lucas’ stomach, under his shirt. He thought it would soothe the boy and if not, he couldn’t feel it anyway, right? At least it would give him something to do while Lucas was still sleeping; he didn’t want to leave the other boy’s presence. He wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. 

 

 Okay, maybe Eliott wasn’t drawing some random lines and squiggles. Truth be told he was drawing a hedgehog, Lucas’ spirit animal. It was an animal that quickly became Eliott’s favorite, tied in first place with the raccoon, his spirit animal. This was his second hedgehog doodle - the first he drew with a raccoon by his side. 

 

 He was almost done with his unseeable creation, when he heard a giggle. 

 

His head shot off of Lucas’ chest, coming to face an amused looking Lucas, who was in the middle of sitting up, and was staring at him with fondness. “Good morning, handsome.” He said as he finally sat upright, “Why’d you stop?”

 

Eliott smiled at him. “Good morning to you too, sleepy. I stopped because you scared the living daylights out of me.”

 

Lucas’ head shot down, his gaze with it, looking like a toddler who had been scolded. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. It’s just that I had been keeping it in for a while and the giggle just came out. You hit a sensitive spot while you were doodling on my stomach.”

 

Eliott squinted him down, something not making sense. _How long had he been up for?_  

 

“At what time did you get up, then Lu?”

 

Lucas looked back up, in thought, before answering. “If I remember correctly, 06:23. But I think it’s way past that now. It’s really bright and sunny.”

 

Eliott’s eyes widened, before it hit him. “It’s your insomnia right?” Lucas shrugged. “It is what it is, Eli.”

 

“Did you get any sleep though?” Eliott pushed on, knowing his worry was visible on his face. 

 

“At first no, and you were tossing and turning a lot. It was cute, but I could tell you were a bit restless. So I pulled you towards me and put your head on my chest and viola.” He did some half-assed jazz hands. “You stopped moving. I played with your hair for a bit, until I actually fell asleep at around 3 AM. I woke up though, and couldn’t fall asleep again.”

 

“And I was thinking about some things with my eyes closed, until I felt your head lift off my chest, only to be plopped down onto it again. Then you began drawing on me and now we’re here.” Lucas explained further. 

 

“I’m sorry you didn’t sleep well. I wish I could do something about it.”

 

Lucas doesn’t respond, opting to stare at Eliott as if he were some art piece in a museum he was trying to decipher. To understand better. 

 

Eliott was beginning to squirm from the heat of his intense gaze. “What?” He choked out, chuckling a bit, feeling insecure all of a sudden. 

 

“Nothing.” Lucas paused, blinking, shaking his head. “Okay, not ‘nothing.’ I’m just shocked at how much you care for me. And we’ve only known each other for exactly a week.” He stopped again, taking a breath. “The thing is, it doesn’t scare me.”

 

Eliott agreed. “It’s weird isn’t it? I feel the same thing with you, and it doesn’t scare me either. It’s like we are meant to be.” _I should’ve kept my mouth shut._

 

He didn’t mean for the last part to come out, it just did. 

 

Lucas didn’t look surprised though, he understood. Eliott had a feeling he always would. 

 

“Yeah, I think we are too, as cheesy as it sounds. I’ve never made a connection with someone so fast, or felt things so quickly before.” Lucas says. 

 

“Me neither. But I’m glad it’s with you.”

 

“I’m glad it’s with you too.” Lucas smiled. “I’ve never felt something so easy and natural like I do when I’m with you. You make me want to tell you my deepest darkest secrets, like I literally want to tell you everything.”

 

Eliott swallowed, _should I tell him about my disorder now?_ But then, _I don’t want to ruin the moment. I’ll do it later today._

 

So instead of responding, Eliott smiled his breathtaking smile, his eyes crinkling. But then he opened his mouth. “It be like that sometimes.”

 

Lucas laughed, rolling his eyes. “Dork.”

 

“Hey!” 

 

Lucas should smirked and shrugged his shoulders. 

 

“Now if you don’t come over here and give me a kiss in five seconds, I’m kicking you out.” Lucas said. 

 

“What? You wouldn’t.” He proclaimed, confident that Lucas wouldn’t do such a thing. 

 

“Watch me. Five,” He began to count down. 

 

Eliott raised his eyebrows in a silent, _oh really?_ And Lucas responded with an, _oh yeah, you bet I am._

 

“Four.”

 

Eliott rolled his eyes, still not believing Lucas. Okay, maybe some doubt was forming in his mind, but Lucas wouldn’t do that, right? Right?

 

“Three.”

 

Time was ticking, and Eliott still hadn’t come on over to where Lucas was. This is when he realized that he wasn’t helping himself in the slightest and was just holding himself back.

 

“Two.”

 

Was he really going to reject kisses from Lucas? _I would never. That’s so stupid, why am I doing that to myself?_

 

“O- ”

 

Lucas was cut off by Eliott launching himself to where Lucas was. He cupped Lucas’ face and pressed his lips against his. Lucas chuckled against his mouth, causing their teeth to clash, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they were here, and living in the moment. 

 

Fuck morning breath. They could brush their teeth later. This was way more important.

 

The kiss was soft, as if they were both afraid of hurting each other. Lucas’ hands went straight to Eliott’s forearms, grabbing them as he lowered them both down onto the pillows. Once their heads landed on them, the softness of the kiss went away in a flash. 

 

It was frantic, yet passionate; like they’d lose each other forever if they didn’t stop kissing so intensely. 

 

Lucas’ hands were roaming everything piece of Eliott’s skin that they could touch. They went from rubbing up and down on Eliott’s forearms to his nape, massaging the hair there with his fingers. They then went up even further, until they landed in Eliott’s messy hair, pulling some strands lightly. Eliott thought it felt amazing. _Don’t stop. Please, don’t._

 

Eliott meanwhile, had his hand in the crook of Lucas’ neck, right where it met his shoulder. He left it there for a while, too busy with other activities, occasionally sneaking his hand under the fabric of Lucas’ shirt. 

 

He moved his hand up to cup Lucas’ cheek a little later, loving how familiar it was to him already; it was his go-to spot. A thought came to him after a while. _I can finally put my hands in his hair. Why didn’t I do that earlier?_ So he did it now. 

 

His hand went up a bit, until it found what it was looking for. 

 

_Bingo._

 

Lucas’ hair felt so soft and silky - he’d have to ask him what shampoo and conditioner he uses. He knows he put his hand in it yesterday, but back then, it felt nothing like it did at the moment and Eliott felt as though he were in heaven. Eliott never wanted his hand to leave the locks of Lucas’ hair. He’d superglue it if he had to (ok maybe he’s over exaggerating, kill him), it was the softest thing he’d ever laid his hands on, and he’s not kidding.  

 

Suddenly he felt a hand remove itself from his hair, and seconds later found that same hand on his waist, pulling him even closer - not that Eliott minded. He lifted his head off the pillow, angling it for better access to Lucas’ mouth, and Lucas opened his mouth even more; eager. 

 

***

~~**Samedi**~~ **Vendredi 09:17**

 

They both parted some time after; panting and trying to catch their breaths. Eliott plopped his head back down and stared at Lucas, attempting to memorize his every feature. Lucas did the same, and before Eliott could suspect it, Lucas kissed his nose. It made him smile like a lunatic, but it was worth it to see the look in Lucas’ eyes when he did. 

 

He was starting to get really hot, really fast. It was mostly likely due to the sun’s heat coming through the window, and him wearing sweatpants. So he took them off, noticing that Lucas was following his lead. They chucked them into the corner of the room, right where a dark brown-almost brassy-colored shelf was. 

 

“You were getting hot too?” Lucas asked. 

 

“Yeah, the sun’s really warming me up and I felt like I was gonna burn to death if I didn’t take them off.” He said, referring to the sweatpants.

 

Lucas laughed, adoration evident in his tone. 

 

“You’re beautiful, you know?” Lucas said after some moments, not caring that he changed the subject.  

 

Eliott’s cheeks flushed, and he smiled. “You've got to stop doing that.”

 

“Doing what?” Lucas pressed on.

 

“Making me as red as a tomato, I’m going to explode one day.”

 

Lucas rolled his eyes. “You would not explode. Oh! Maybe your face would stay red forever? It would make you look like the red Angry Bird.”

 

Eliott widened his eyes. “That’s not funny, Lu!” He stated, even though he was giggling. “Don’t joke about that, that would be horrible.”

 

Lucas was a giggling mess as well. “Okay, I’ll stop. Just for you, though.”

 

Eliott smiled. “We really are weirdos, aren’t we?” He commented, no accusation laced in his tone. 

 

Lucas hummed. “You bet your ass we are. And I love that for us.”

 

Eliott nodded. “Me too.” He turned over onto his back. “What time is it?”

 

Lucas puffed out a breath. “I have no idea. Let me check.” He flopped onto his stomach with an ‘oof’ sound, reaching out for his phone that was on the desk beside the bed. “It is, Saturday, no wait, Friday - my bad - and it’s 9:17 in the morning.”

 

“9:17, huh? I like that time. It has a little ring to it.” Eliott turned back to his side, and Lucas turned his head over to look at him. 

 

“You think so?” Lucas questioned, to which Eliott replied to by nodding his head. 

 

“I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m dreaming, like you and me being here, right now, isn’t real. Now, every time it’s Friday at 9:17, I’ll remember that I wasn’t. I’ll know that my dream came true.”

 

“I’m your dream come true?” Lucas teased. 

 

“Duh! Do you think I’d skip school two days in a row with someone who wasn’t?” Eliott started as if it were obvious; he wasn’t embarrassed at all, and embraced his thought.

 

“No, I’m just making sure you weren’t kidding.”

 

Eliott looked at him, puzzled. Why would he be kidding, it’s true. 

 

“Because,” Lucas continued, “I’m just going to say it.” He took a deep breath. “Eliott, you’re my dream come true too.”

 

Eliott’s breath caught in his throat, stunned by Lucas’ confession. He was unable to speak. Lucas rendered him speechless again, and truth be told, he wasn’t that surprised. He was too whipped for the boy with big, vibrant, blue eyes. He was pretty sure everyone on the planet would agree if they saw them both together, with Eliott’s heart eyes popping out of their sockets. 

 

“It’s so crazy with you. I swear, I feel like we’ve known each other for an entire lifetime, even though that’s not possible. You just get me.” Lucas explains. 

 

Eliott shuddered. “I feel like you get me too.” Eliott croaks out. He can’t talk much more, so he decides to put everything he can’t put into words into one kiss. He reached out for Lucas’ neck and leaned in. Lucas shifted so that he was on his side, and let himself be kissed by Eliott. 

 

Every _you make me crazy ,_ or _I want to tell you everything about me ,_ was put into the kiss he pulled Lucas into, hoping he’d understand. He could tell Lucas did, he was kissing him just as fiercely and hard as Eliott was. 

 

The kiss was really heated, so heated, in fact, that only after a few minutes their shirts came off and were thrown onto the floor somewhere. That left more skin to be explored, and more lines to commit to memory. 

 

Eliott’s never had a kiss so good before Lucas. Now though, with him, he’s experienced the best kisses he’s ever received in his life. They made Eliott’s stomach erupt with butterflies that were fluttering about. They made his heart soar as well.

 

It was something Eliott wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to; Lucas kissing him, that is. 

 

***

 

Lost in thought, Eliott barely noticed that Lucas rolled them over. He only did when Lucas broke the kiss, leaving Eliott to chase after his lips, wanting more. Lucas huffed out a nasally laugh, and Eliott was sure he wanted to hear that sound everyday. He opened his eyes to see Lucas hovering above him, one hand in Eliott’s hair, the other on the mattress to hoist himself up. 

 

_You look like a Greek god right now, Lu. You’re an actual angel._

 

Lucas blushed furiously, but didn’t look away, only looking a bit embarrassed. “Um, thanks, I guess?” He said. 

 

Eliott was lost until he realized he must’ve voiced his thoughts out loud. “I just said that, didn’t I?”

 

Lucas ruffled his hair a bit. “You did. I mean, I know you said you’d compliment me, but I didn’t think you’d go to extreme lengths.”

 

Eliott blushed, but didn’t let that get in the way of him trying to be bold. “At least you know how good you look right now then.”

 

“You do too. The way the light is hitting your eyes is making me crazy.” Lucas stated. 

 

Then, Lucas lowered himself and began kissing Eliott’s stomach, causing even more butterflies to erupt there and flutter their hearts out. He made his way back up, and stroked a hand against Eliott’s face. “I hope you know how precious and beautiful you look, especially right now. You’re like a piece of art; a masterpiece.”

 

Eliott thought he would actually die if this conversation kept going, so he switched the topic and blurted out the first thing he could think of. 

 

“What did you think of me the first time that you saw me at the rec center?” _Wow, that’s not subtle at all._

 

Lucas looked shocked at the change in conversation, but answered his regardless, smirking. “I thought to myself, ‘wow, he looks like clumsy disaster.’ But also that he might blush a lot.”

 

Eliott scoffed. “I’m not that much of a blushing, clumsy disaster! Fuck!” He shook his head. “It’s not my fault that when I do something disastrous or clumsy you see it.”

 

There was a brief silence after that, and Lucas was staring at Eliott as if he was his one and only. 

 

“The first time I saw you wasn’t at the rec center. It was on the first day of school after winter break. I was walking with my friends and you were walking with yours. I wasn’t paying attention and bumped into you while you were walking past. You didn’t see me.”

 

Eliott dug through his brain, trying to rack up any memory of Lucas on that day. Sadly, he came back empty handed. He shook his head as much as he could, considering his head was on a pillow. 

 

Lucas smiled, not looking like it bothered him. “But I saw you.” He moved his hand from Eliott’s hair again, and cupped his cheek, stroking it with his thumb. “I only saw you, actually.” 

 

Eliott couldn’t help but smile at Lucas. “I wish I saw you too.”

 

That made Lucas chuckle. “I could not get you out of my head for weeks. And I kept seeing you everywhere I went in school, but I couldn’t work up the nerve to talk to you. But, hey, at least we’re together now.”

 

“Yeah, finally.” Eliott smiled wider, thinking his cheeks would crack if he smiled any wider than this. 

 

Lucas snorted. “Why are you so unbelievably cute? It’s adorable.”

 

Eliott lost count of how many times he had blushed this morning.

 

***

 

The two boys were all over each other when they heard the front door slam shut loudly, causing them to separate themselves abruptly. 

 

“Shit, that scared me.” Lucas said, startled. “That must have been Mika, I guess he had to cover someone else’s shift today and is a little agitated by that. Friday is usually his day off.” He adds in. 

 

“And how do you know that wasn’t Lisa?” Eliott countered, his breathing a bit ragged. 

 

“Well, for starters, she wakes up at like one in the afternoon, and she never covers anyone else’s shifts. Like ever. And she doesn’t work on Fridays either. Plus she doesn’t like going out.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“We don’t really know. ‘We’ as in Mika, Manon, and me. She’s a tough cookie to crack, but can be really funny when she wants to be.”

 

“Noted.” Eliott mutters under his breath. “Are you hungry? I know I am.” Eliott said, his stomach ready to growl if food doesn’t enter it soon. 

 

“I could have some food right now, but I want to cook.”

 

“Why can’t I cook?” Eliott asked, offense in his voice. 

 

“You can’t because I want to impress you. I can make a killer breakfast, I’ll have you know.”

 

“Oh really?” Eliott teased. _You already impress me._   

 

“Yes!” Lucas semi screamed. “It’ll be the best breakfast you’ve ever had, trust me.”

 

Lucas seemed fairly confident, so what could go wrong?

 

A lot of things could actually, but to be fair, they weren’t Lucas’ fault. When Lucas pulled some eggs out of the fridge, Eliott volunteered to crack them. It couldn’t be that hard right?

 

He was wrong. Oh, so, so wrong. 

 

He cracked them with too much force on the edge of the counter, causing the shell to break off everywhere and the yolk to fall on the floor, along with the egg whites. 

 

“Eliott!” Lucas exclaimed. “What did you do?”

 

“Sorry, I tried to crack the eggs, but now they’re on the floor. It was an accident.” He said. 

 

“Those were our only eggs!” Lucas was bent over, laughing at the situation. Eliott felt guilty, but seeing Lucas like that made the feeling go away a bit, but not completely. 

 

“I didn’t mean to.”

 

Hey,” Lucas walked over to where Eliott was and cupped his face. “It’s okay, everyone does that with eggs at least once. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“What will we have now, though?” Eliott asked. 

 

“We have some cereal and Pop Tarts, if you want.”

 

“You had me at cereal.” Eliott jokes, and it works, making Lucas smile. 

 

Lucas uncups Eliott’s cheek, in favor of getting some paper towels. He wet them all down, and cleaned the floor of all the shell and egg. He threw the towel away when he finished. Then, he got more in order to dry the floor. Eliott gave him a hand when he could, mostly on drying the floor, since he didn’t want to make anything worse. Once they finished that task, they went to the sink to wash their hands. They dried them when they were clean, ready to retry making breakfast. Except Eliott sat out of it this time around. 

 

Lucas gave Eliott a quick peck on the lips, before retrieving the items needed. 

 

Lucas pulled out two bowls and spoons, two Pop Tarts, a carton of milk, and some Lucky Charms. He put two Pop Tarts in the toaster and began putting the milk into one of the bowls. Eliott was baffled. 

 

He walked over to wear Lucas was, grabbed the milk out of his hands, and set it on the counter. “Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah. What do you think you’re doing?”

 

Lucas furrowed his brows. “I’m putting milk into the bowls so I can put the cereal in it. What does it look like I’m doing?”

 

“Oh, no you don’t.” Eliott retorted. “Not to my bowl at least.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because, Lu, the cereal is supposed to go in the bowl first, not the milk.” _Who does that? Milk first? That should be a crime._

 

Lucas was getting more lost by the minute. “Does it really matter that much?”

 

“Yes! Of course it does! One is right and the other is wrong. It’s just a fact.” 

 

Lucas shook his head, huffing a breath out air out. “Okay, whatever you say, Mr. Cereal first, milk second.”

 

He took the other bowl and poured some Lucky Charms into it; then the milk. He put one of the spoons inside, and gave it to Eliott who was sitting at the table. He then proceeded to add in the Lucky Charms to his bowl of milk. He put the other spoon inside and set it on his place at the table, sitting in the seat.

 

The Pop Tarts popped out of the toaster a minute later, scaring the two boys, making them jump in their seats. Lucas got up, fetched the sugary goodness, and came back. 

 

“Here you go, one strawberry Pop Tart.”

 

“Thanks, Lu.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

“Man, I still can’t believe you put the milk in first.” He sighed, then tutted. 

 

“Oh, my. Shut up.” Lucas said playfully.

 

They ate their breakfast in silence, with Eliott occasionally throwing a piece of cereal to Lucas’ face; Lucas threw some back at him, unless you count for the times he caught them in his mouth. 

 

***

 

They had finished eating about thirty minutes ago and were back inside Manon’s room. Lucas was on the bed, lying on his stomach; Eliott was on top of him, his head on Lucas’ back. 

 

They weren’t talking all that much, picking up conversation lazily every now and then. 

 

Eliott’s eyes were closed and he was circling his fingers on Lucas’ back. Even though it didn’t seem like much, Eliott would call it paradise. 

 

“I wonder what would happen if we never met.” Eliott voiced out. 

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Like, what if I never got that job in the rec center. Or you never came by on Friday to dance? I’ll admit it, it scares me.”

 

“But in the end, it happened.” Lucas commented. 

 

“You know, when I have a choice to make, I always tell myself that there are two paths to take. I end up taking one because I have to make a choice at some point. But I will never know what I missed by not taking the other one. It drives me crazy.”

 

“I’m happy you chose the one that led you here.” Lucas said, shifting his head to the side a bit. 

 

“Yeah, me too,” Eliott grinned. 

 

“When I have a choice to make,” Lucas began, “I tell myself that there are Lucases, in other parallel universes, who took the other path. That way, between all of us combined, we’ve tried everything.”

 

“I’ve never heard of that theory before.”

 

Lucas hummed. “Well, not everything’s the same in every universe. Maybe in universe n.1835 there are yellow curtains in the room, instead of the transparent ones in here.”

 

Lucas gasped, “Maybe in universe n.917 you shaved your head.” Eliott huffed a breath. “Don’t worry, you’d still look good. But that’s the general idea. What do you think?”

 

“I like it.” Eliott murmured. 

 

“You better,” Lucas joked. 

 

“How many Lucases and Eliotts do you think are together right now?”

 

“All of them.” Lucas answered immediately. Eliott’s heart was about to leap out of his chest. 

 

“And what are they doing currently?”

 

“Well, there are some in different countries for sure. Like Norway, Italy, Germany, the United States, Spain, Belgium, maybe even England.”

 

“What about the Netherlands?” Eliott suggested. 

 

“A version of ourselves is definitely in the Netherlands, if there’s not, I will riot.” Lucas agreed. “And maybe one of our parallel universe selves were girls.” He added. 

 

“That’d be cool. What if I was a vampire in one of them, though, and we met in the bar that I worked the night shift at with Alex and Emma?”

 

“That would be pretty awesome, and maybe your hair was black in that version too. But unfortunately, I don’t think Emma would make a great bartender. She’d get drunk before midnight.” 

 

“Probably. Oh, what if Imane was the one to supply me with blood bags so my need to feed would be resolved? She’d work in the hospital there for sure, she’s too smart.”

 

Lucas nodded as much as he could. “And maybe there, you’d see me first, instead of that being me.”

 

“Yes! And this might be a bit sappy, but when I bump into you, you make my heart start beating again, and make me feel alive for the first time since I turned into a vampire.”

 

“That’s one hell of a universe. It seems interesting to be in.” He paused. “I bet you there’s also a version where we’re ballet dancers, or where we went to Hogwarts, like Harry Potter.”

 

“That sounds like fun. Although I have a feeling that I’d be shit at flying.”

 

Lucas laughed. “Probably. But that’s okay, maybe I’d suck at it too. That way you wouldn’t be alone.”

 

“Thanks for thinking of me.” Eliott retorted. He kissed Lucas’ back, hearing him sigh, content. _I want to stay with you, right here, right now, forever._

 

Eliott cleared his throat before asking, “Can I stay here with you forever?”

 

Lucas turned his head almost 180 degrees to peak up at Eliott. For a second, Eliott got lost in those ocean blue eyes, before Lucas responded. “Yes. Yes, you can.”

 

Eliott pressed one more kiss to Lucas’ back and exhaled. He’d never been as happy as he was in this moment. 

 

Haziness, and some drowsiness overtook the both of them, and everything slowly began turning black. 

 

***

~~**Samedi**~~ **Vendredi 14:34**

 

Eliott woke up to a loud, annoying vibrating sound. He lifted his head off of Lucas’ back and looked toward the desk next to the bed. It was his phone. 

 

Sighing, he got up and walked over to it, wondering who the hell it was. 

 

Eliott turned on his phone, and was met with:

 

**(6) missed calls from Sof**

 

**(2) missed calls from Alex**

 

**(1) new message from Alex**

 

**(8) new messages from Sof**

 

He went to his messages first, opening up his chat with Alex.

 

**Alex:**

_hey man. i tried calling you last night but you didn’t answer. just wanted to see if you were good because you’re not in class._

 

**Eliott:**

_thanks for checking up on me alex. i’m good though. i just decided to skip, that’s all._

 

He exited out of the chat and went to the one with Sofiane. 

 

**Sof:**

 

_dude??? where the fuck did you run off to? I called you twice!_

 

_are you okay??_

 

_nevermind, i just heard that lucas is gone too, so i’m assuming you’re with him_

 

_just text me when you get this, to know you made it somewhere safely._

 

_okay, im guessing you didn’t see that message and i can tell you skipped school, but remember, we have a birthday party to run at 16:15. be at the rec center by 14:00 to help me set up._

 

_eli you’re thirty minutes late!_

 

_where the hell are you? ANSWER ME PLEASE_

 

_hello? okay, i’m just gonna call you till you pick up_

 

“Fucking hell,” Eliott muttered. He texted Sofiane a quick - _shit, i just saw your messages. i’m on my way_ \- and he turned off his phone, putting it back on the desk in order to find his borrowed clothes. As soon as the items were found - they were laying strewn around the room, scattered - Eliott threw on the pair of sweatpants and put the black t-shirt over his head, not caring if his hair looked like a bird’s nest. 

 

Man, he really didn’t want to leave. But he had to, or else he’d get fired. And lord knows that he could use that extra money. Luckily he had an idea. He knew Lucas would love it. 

 

He went over to where the desk was, finding a stack of yellow sticky notes on it. Perfect. He then found a black ink pen laying there, on the desk, as well, and grabbed it in an instant. He figured that now would be a good a time as ever to let Lucas know what his spirit animal is. 

 

He sat on the bed, the edge dipping down a bit, and began to draw. He first drew out the hedgehog, leaving it by itself in the middle of the bed, alone. It was to insinuate how in this universe, he will wake up by himself, with Eliott, sadly, not by his side. After finishing choupi, the name he gave to Lucas’ hedgehog a mere two seconds ago, he drew a blanket over him and some pillows as well. At least he’d be comfy, that’s for sure. 

 

Then on a separate sticky note, Eliott drew out a raccoon and hedgehog together, on the same bed. It took him a bit longer than the first one but it was worth it. Anything for Lucas. Once he added in the final details on the two animals, he pursed his lips, and put them under a blanket and added some pillows around their heads. He even added a colored-in heart, floating above them, just for good measure. 

 

At the bottom, he even put in a caption. It read: _Eliott #3546 is a fucking lucky guy. You look beautiful when you sleep._

 

There. Done. 

 

Eliott was proud of the product he had created, and was glad that Lucas would be the first and only one to see it. He placed it one the pillow next to Lucas, who was still lying on his stomach. Eliott grinned, happy that Lucas was finally getting some sleep. He deserved it after all. 

 

Eliott placed a kiss (more like five) onto Lucas’ forehead, since his head was turned to the side. When he did so, Lucas smiled a bit and turned to lay on his back, squirming a bit, as if looking for the best position. Eliott froze, not wanting to be caught, even though he didn’t do anything wrong. Apparently Lucas found a position that suited him, on his back, and fell still. Eliott moved again. 

 

He placed one final kiss onto Lucas’ head and ruffled his hair. One for the road, as they say. Then, he went back to the desk, grabbing his phone. 

 

He departed Lucas’ room, not looking back because he knew he’d stay. And as much as he wanted to, he needed to leave. Sofiane was counting on him, and he was already late. He didn’t want to put a kid’s birthday party at risk. That would be utterly cruel.

 

He made it to the front door, unlocking it and opening it up. He came face to face with Mika, who looked surprised to see him there. 

 

“Eliott? What are you doing here.”

 

“I was, uh, I was with Lucas.”

 

“Did you two skip school?”

 

Eliott’s face flushed, “Maybe?”

 

“Maybe?”

 

“Okay, we did. I’m guilty as charged.” Eliott said, throwing his hands up in surrender.

 

“May I ask why?” Mika eyed him suspiciously. 

 

“Um, we - well, uh - you see- ”

 

He was cut off of his horrible explanation by Mika gasping in delight, quickly covering his mouth afterwards. 

 

“Does he like you back?”

 

Eliott’s eyes widened in shock for a second, before nodding, shyness seeping into every pore of his body. 

 

Mika smiled a dazzling smile and squealed in excitement, tackling Eliott with a hug, while jumping up and down. “Kitten, that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you guys!”

 

Eliott smiled back, unable to resist the spreading positive energy around him. “Just please don’t tell Lucas I told you. Let him tell you on his own when he’s ready.”

 

Mika nodded his head vigorously against Eliott’s shoulder. “Yes, of course. I’ll just play dumb and pretend I didn’t even see you.”

 

“Thank you, Mika.” They disentangled themselves and Eliott took a breath. “I’ve got to get going. I’m late for work and I can’t miss it. Talk to you later?”

 

“Yes, as you please, kitten.” He moved inside the flat so Eliott could get out. Eliott waved to him as a goodbye and Mika reciprocated it, his smile still plastered onto his face. 

 

When he made his way outside, he got another idea. He pulled out his phone, turning it on and opening up a new message chat with Lucas. 

 

**To weirdo <3:**

_hey lu, it’s eli. sorry that i left but i have a birthday party to help Sof with. you can come by at around 19:00 if you want._

 

_miss you already❤️❤️❤️_

 

***

When Lucas woke up, he turned to an empty side of the bed. He rubbed his eyes, when a yellow piece of paper struck his eyes. He grabbed it, only to see Eliott’s drawings - the first and second. He smiled to himself, clutching the piece of paper close. _He’s adorable, without a doubt._

 

He went to reach his phone that was placed on the desk, and when he saw his lock screen, he came face-to-face with Eliott’s message. He smiled even brighter. _I’m so gone for him already._  

 

_No wonder I’m falling in love with him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one took me a while to write, sorry about that. please comment though, I’m really proud of this chapter and want to see what y’all think
> 
> Also, my class ends this Friday, meaning updates will be occurring more frequently
> 
> bisous 🧡🧡🧡


	9. lu takeover 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a lucas takeover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this isn’t as long as the ones I’ve been posting lately, but I’m trying to update more frequently so I hope that makes up for it. 
> 
> Also I hope everyone’s having a good day, and if not, I hope it gets better💛
> 
> Please note: dance vocab isn’t my strong suit. I do gymnastics, not dance so I’m using what I know. And if I got something wrong, please let me know. And if you don’t know what something means, you can ask me :)

**In Lucas’ point of view**

***

**Vendredi 15:46**

 

Lucas gets out of Manon’s bed and puts on his sweatpants and t-shirt. He looks at Eliott’s cute little doodle one more time and finally emerges from Manon’s room, after having stared at Eliott’s creation for more time than he would like to admit. He promised himself to look at it for two seconds, but the time frame might have gone from seconds to minutes. Oh well, who could blame him? It was the most precious piece of artwork Lucas has ever been given. And the only one as well. 

 

Once he closes the door of the bedroom when he is finally out, he walks to the kitchen, deeming it perfectly normal to have a cup of coffee at almost four in the afternoon. His first one, to be more exact.

 

He sees Mika there, sitting in one of the chairs by the table, and nods his head in greeting when Mika sees him. “How was your shift?”

 

Mika sighs and slams a fist down on the table - not too hard though. “It was absolutely terrible, I’ll have you know. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”

 

Lucas scrunched his face up, sympathizing Mika for what he had to go through, even though he didn’t think it was that bad. Mika was known for being a tad bit over dramatic anyways. “I’m sorry, Mika. But at least you got some money out of it.”

 

“True, kitten, but that fact didn’t make work any less awful. Remind me to never take a Friday shift again.” He groaned, face serious. 

 

“Gotcha.” Lucas added with a playful wink. 

 

Lucas walks over to the coffee pot and sees coffee already made inside. Mika must’ve poured himself some after work. Or Lisa must have when he was still sleeping. Either way, Lucas grabs a mug from the cabinet right above the pot and serves himself some coffee, black. No creamer. No milk. No sugar. Nothing. Just how he likes it. 

 

“God, I still don’t understand how you can have your coffee just like that, fresh out of the pot, with nothing. Doesn’t it taste disgusting and bitter?” Mika asks, a frown forming.  

 

Lucas smirks a little. “Well, I’m more of a man than you, first of all.” Mika looked offended at that and Lucas chuckled. “I’m just kidding. Second, it just doesn’t taste gross to me, I guess.”

 

Mika hmphs and stands from his seat. “So, why’d you skip school today? You know I could hear you laughing your ass off in Manon’s room before I left, right?” Mika asks offhandedly, as if to make conversation. As if he didn’t already know the reason for which Lucas was laughing. And more specifically, who he was laughing _with_. 

 

_Eliott._

 

Lucas looks down at the floor bashfully and unconsciously smiles, his lips tugging upwards ever so slightly. He looks at Mika, his gaze unwavering, and breaks out into a toothy grin. “I think I found my person.”

 

You see, when Lucas‘ dad moved out without warning, he was scared of that happening to him, with his significant other. That fear still hasn’t gone away. He has abandonment issues, sue him. It’s not his fucking fault anyways, blame his ass of a father. Lucas wanted someone who was there for him through thick and thin. Someone who could make him happy after the worst day ever. Someone who would take care of him when he’s sick. Someone who made him feel like he wasn’t alone. 

 

Since then, Lucas’ called that someone, his person. He’s told Mika about it, telling him how he aspires to find them, and be with them for as long as possible. 

 

So when those words came out of Lucas’ mouth, Mika’s reaction was genuine. He was shocked and delighted to know that Eliott was that person for him. He knows Lucas wouldn’t say that for just anyone, and it makes Mika so impossibly content for the boy. For the two of them. 

 

But, Mika can’t let Lucas know that he knows about the two of them. Eliott asked that of him and he would respect his wish. “I’m so happy for you, kitten! Am I fortunate enough to know who they are?” Mika questions, knowing the answer. 

 

Lucas’ smile widens even more just thinking about Eliott. He’s so deep already, he knows that, but he doesn’t care. When you _know_ , you _know_ . And he _knows_ after a week of actually meeting Eliott for the first time. He just _knows_ that he and Eliott, were meant to be. It was like love at first sight. And he’s sure that Eliott feels the same way. Again, he just _knows_. 

 

“Remember Eliott from yesterday?” Mika nods, a smile forming on his face. “Well, after the party, wait no, _during_ the party, we snuck out. And we kissed, and I took him here with me and we crashed in Manon’s room.”

 

Mika all but squeals, over the moon right now for Lucas. He comes over to where the little one is, takes the mug from his hand, setting it on the counter, and embraces him tightly. Lucas, surprised by the sudden burst of affection, stiffens at first, but then relaxes and hugs Mika back just as tight. It feels nice for both; they aren’t always like this with each other. 

 

Their relationship isn’t the best. Mika is, or was, always on Lucas’ case about the rent and how he’s always late. That causes Lucas to, at some points, get upset and storm out. And every time he comes back, Mika is mad at him for acting like that. And then Lucas is mad at Mika because he is mad at him. It’s a whole ordeal that Lucas likes to call ‘a big fucking mess.’ 

 

It’s a work in progress. But at least they _are trying_. 

 

Sometimes though, there are moments like this, where they’re both at ease with the other, and have a laugh, smile, crack jokes, converse, fuck around. And luckily, lately their relationship has been growing more and more positive, and since Lucas’ pain in the ass dad covered his rent on Monday, things have been better than ever. 

 

And even though they aren’t the closest, or the most friendly with each other, they both know that they have each other’s backs, and sometimes, that’s all that matters. Not to say that the hug they’re in right now isn’t nice though. Because it is.

 

“Ah, I’m so proud and ecstatic right now, kitten!” Mika exclaims. “I’m so glad he’s your person, he seems like a keeper. Plus he’s hella hot.” He adds in as an afterthought. They pull apart, Mika’s hands shaking Lucas’ shoulders in excitement.

 

Lucas laughs, “Yeah, he isn't he? But I feel like he gets me more than anyone else and I feel like he feels it too.”

 

***

**Vendredi 18:03**

 

Just as Eliott’s text instructed, Lucas has made it to the rec center, except he's an hour early. He knows that, but Eliott isn’t going to kill him for that. 

 

He came a bit early to dance, and makes his way downstairs, rounding a corner, until he makes it to the studio at the end of the hall. That is his favorite one. It’s the one he used when he first started out and will always have a special place in his heart. 

 

And yes, he’s talking about a non-living thing, but said thing makes him feel so alive and happy that of course it’ll have a place there. Always.  

 

He puts his dance bag that was previously slung over his shoulder, on the ground, and goes to connect his phone to the speaker’s aux cord. Then, he makes his way to the middle of the floor, sits down, and stretches a bit. It would be pretty dumb not to. He can pull a hamstring without stretching, or maybe even break an ankle without rolling it out beforehand. Basically, stretching is the most important step before dancing, and it doesn’t matter what type of dance your doing; it’s necessary all the same. 

 

He stretches his legs, calfs, thighs, ankles, shoulders, arms, wrists, and back. 

 

When he finishes, he stands back up again and goes over to his phone, finding some good songs to dance to. He wants to do some improv today. 

 

Sometimes, he choreographs his own routines, sometimes Sofiane helps him, sometimes he learns a routine off of YouTube, and sometimes he improvs, like today. He usually does what he wants and that depends on his mood. He’s happy right now, and giddy too. And when he’s like this and just wants to dance his heart out _immediately_ , so he improves. 

 

He scrolls through his music library and sets up a playlist of songs he wants to dance to. 

 

**Lu’s dancing playlist**

 

    * _for him_ by Troy Sivan, Allday
    * _Trop beau_ by Lomepal 
    * _Sucker_ by Jonas Brothers
    * _Losing Myself_ by Stephen Cornish
    * _I’m Yours_ by Jason Mraz
    * _Someone You Loved_ by Lewis Capaldi
    * __Electric Love_ by BØRN_
    * _Let Me Down Slowly_ by Alec Benjamin 
    * _Somewhere Only We Know_ by Keane



 

He hits play and the playlist starts rolling. 

 

Now, Lucas is a hip hop dancer; it’s his favorite style of dance and frankly, the one he favors the most. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t add variety to his hip hop dancing though. Sometimes he’ll break dance - yes, he knows how to do that, and spinning on his head is harder than it looks. Sometimes he will incorporate some contemporary and lyrical - Sofiane tells him his lines and technique is good for it. It’s really just what he feels like doing and what he wants to add. He doesn’t dance competitively and really only does it for himself. He doesn’t post videos of himself dancing on Instagram, he doesn’t feel the need to. If it’s for him why does he need to show it to the world?

 

Hip hop though, is the one type of dance where he can really get into the zone. Right now, as he’s dancing it, his mind gets cleared almost automatically and he gets lost in the music, making up the dance as he goes, following the beat. To Lucas, it’s the only one where he can feel completely free, he doesn’t have to think much about what he’s doing, how he’s doing it, or if he’s doing it right. He just goes, uses muscle memory, and moves. 

 

It’s exhilarating for him. He loves it. 

 

***

**Vendredi 18:50**

 

When he reaches the last two songs of his playlist, he changes the style. He goes from hip hop to a more contemporary form of dance, as those two songs don’t really have the best base, beat, or rhythm for hip hop - neither did _I’m Yours_ but he made it work somehow. 

 

He toes off his shoes, kicking them into the corner; contemporary isn’t really a good one for keeping them on, and he takes his socks off as well. It’s been a while since he’s danced like this, but he figures he can use the practice. And also he just wants to - a common theme with him and dance - so why the fuck not? 

 

The song starts and he gets into the groove rather quickly. He does some possé pirouette turns first, about 3 or 4, and steps out of the last one, puts his hand on the ground, and spins his body until he’s on the floor, where he goes into an elbow stand, opening his legs until they’re in a split position, taking advantage of his back and leg flexibility. He comes out of it and does some more floor work. 

 

_Don’t cut me down, throw me out, leave me here to waste_

_I once was a man with dignity and grace_

_Now I’m slipping through the cracks of your cold embrace_

_So please, please_

 

Once the chorus comes around, he’s back on his feet, and does a leap, his foot almost touching the back of his head. He chassés as he moves to one of the corners of the room, giving himself enough room to do a front aerial, a skill he achieved two months ago. 

 

_Let me down, down_

_Let me down, down_

_Let me down, let me down_

_Down, let me down, down_

_Let me down_

 

_If you wanna go then I’ll be so lonely_

_If you’re leaving baby, let me down slowly_

 

*

 

He's on his last song and finds himself doing a back handspring-step-out to his knee, ending up on the floor once again, and does an over the shoulder backwards roll. He enjoys every second of it, the dancing, the lyrics, the environment he’s in; everything. 

 

_Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?_

_I'm getting old, and I need something to rely on_

_So tell me when you're gonna let me in_

_I'm getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin_

 

_And if you have a minute, why don't we go_

_Talk about it somewhere only we know?_

_This could be the end of everything_

_So why don't we go?_

_So why don't we go?_

 

_This could be the end of everything_

_So why don't we go_

_Somewhere only we know_

_Somewhere only we know_

_Somewhere only we know?_

 

Suddenly, the song ends and all he hears is applause. He’s out of breath, panting, and turns to the door to see who it is. 

 

It’s Eliott, face in awe and smiling like there’s no tomorrow. “That was incredible,” he says, walking to where Lucas is. Lucas walks too, meeting Eliott halfway, and Eliott engulfs him into a bone crushing hug, lifting Lucas off the ground, spinning them both around. 

 

He lets Lucas go after a while, amazement still written all over his face. “I thought you only do hip hop?”

 

Lucas smirks, raising his brows, “Well, hip hop is my favorite, without a doubt. But sometimes, depending on how I feel, I dabble in other styles too. Not everything has to be _just_ hip hop as a hip hop dancer, you know.”

 

Eliott nods his head, but Lucas can see the curious glint in his beautiful blue-grey eyes. “So, what was that style you just did for the last couple songs?” He asked. 

 

Lucas squints. “How long have you been watching me, Eli?”

 

Eliott’s reply comes instantly. “Not long enough, I can assure you.”

 

Lucas shakes his head, rolling his eyes in amusement. “How long?”

 

Eliott sighs in defeat. “Just for the last three, I promise. I know when I saw _Someone you loved_ , you were doing hip hop, because that’s the way I usually see you dance. But I don’t know what you did for the last two. What I do know though, is that it was breathtaking and lovely.”

 

Lucas is sure that fondness is showing all over his face, but he can’t help it. Eliott is too good and pure for this world, and he’s sure of it. He smiles brightly. “Thanks, that means a lot. It’s a style that I’m not the best at, but felt right to do in the moment. It was contemporary.”

 

“I have to remember that. You looked like a pro doing it, you were fantastic.” Eliott complimented. 

 

Lucas decides that he’s gone too long without Eliott’s kisses, and puts his hands on his neck, giving him a peck. They part, but leave their foreheads touching. 

 

“Thanks, Eli.”

 

“Anytime.”

 

***

 

They’re sitting on the floor of the studio, backs pressed against the wall. 

 

“How was the birthday party?” Lucas asks. 

 

Eliott smiles as he reminisces the event. “Well, I was almost an hour late to help Sofiane set up, and he was pissed. But we finished regardless, with a few minutes to spare before the kids got there. God, Lu, you should’ve been there, it was adorable. The little boy turned five and was screaming about how he could use all his fingers in his hand when someone asks for his age.” Eliott gushes. “And you should’ve seen the presents he received. His friends got him Marvel™ action figures. He was so excited.”

 

“Which ones did he get?” Lucas asks. 

 

“Uh, Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Spider-Man, Black Widow, Thor, Clint Barton, Loki, Nick Fury, Black Panther, Dr. Strange, Captain Marvel, Gamora, Groot, Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Ant-Man, Wasp, and probably more, but I forgot the rest.”

 

“That kid’s lucky, imagine the fun he’s going to have with those action figures.” Lucas wonders. 

 

“A whole lot, definitely.” Eliott concludes. 

 

There’s a pause in the conversation, and Eliott laces their fingers together. Lucas complies. 

 

“I told Mika about us.” Lucas blurts out. “I just wanted to tell you that, and I hope you don’t mind.”

 

“Why would I mind?” Eliott questions. Lucas shrugs. “I mean, I might’ve told him on my way out, since I bumped into him…” Eliott trails off. 

 

“Wait, so when I told him, he knew?” Lucas scoffs. “Ugh, he’s a good actor.”

 

Eliott giggles. “I guess he is.” He leans his head back against the wall a bit too hard, and a _thunk_ sound occurs when his head gets hit. “FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!”  He yelps in pain, letting go of Lucas’ hand reluctantly. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to dull the pain, but to no avail. 

 

Concern washes over Lucas’ features as he tears himself off the wall and crawls in front of Eliott, cupping his face. “Are you okay?”

 

“No, not really. I’m not sure if you saw, but I just hit my head really fucking hard.” Eliott complains. 

 

Lucas runs his thumbs against Eliott’s cheeks. “I’m sorry, do you want me to get you some ice?”

 

“No it’s okay. Just stay here with me. Please.” He says, eyes still closed shut. 

 

Lucas smiles. “Of course.”

 

He sits down in front of Eliott, hands still on his cheeks. “So my spirit animal is a hedgehog then?” He asks. 

 

Eliott opens his eyes and looks up at Lucas. “Yeah, it is.”

 

“Okay, can I know why?”

 

Eliott considers this for a moment. “Your hair’s a little spikey, for starters. You’re really short-“

 

“Hey!”

 

“Don’t interrupt me, Lu. Plus, you and I both know I’m right.”

 

Lucas huffs a breath. “Fine. Go on.”

 

“And it’s also the way you are. When you want to defend yourself, you close yourself off, and use your spikes. That’s why.”

 

Lucas processes the information, and realizes that Eliott’s right; he’s not bad at noticing the details. 

 

“You’re really good at this. Reading people, I mean.”

 

“I am a pretty good observer when I’m not falling on something or hurting myself.” Eliott jokes. 

 

Lucas laughs. “I think it’s cute when you’re clumsy,” He states. 

 

“Really?” Eliott says in disbelief. 

 

“Yeah, I said what I said.”

 

“Hm, I might just have to fall, trip, and hit myself more often.”

 

“Maybe.” Lucas agrees. “Is your head hurting less now?”

 

“Yes, so that’s good. You know what would make it even better though?”

 

Lucas shakes his head. “No.”

 

“Kissing me.”

 

Lucas snorts. _That was not subtle at all_. “Are you sure? I heard that it can make your head hurt worse,” he teases. 

 

Eliott purses his lips. “I don’t think so. I read about it in a medical journal once.”

 

“You did?”

 

“Mhm.”

 

“Well, if you say so.”

 

Lucas brings their lips together, and feels Eliott’s hands make their way to his neck, cradling it, and holding it softly. 

 

Lucas is positive that he will never get tired of kissing Eliott. How could he? Eliott is like Lucas’ personal heaven and sunshine, balled up in human form. To Lucas, he’s the most perfect thing in the universe. 

 

Their kiss is slow, smooth, and calm. It’s unlike their kiss from last night and majority of the ones from this morning. They seek no need to rush, it’s like they have all the time in the world. It’s like they’re savoring it. 

 

After a while, Lucas wasn’t keeping track, they pull apart, still in a state of bliss. Eliott is the first to open his eyes and he pokes Lucas on the cheek, earning a grunt from the smaller one. Lucas opens his eyes. “What was that for?”

 

“No reason.”

 

“No reason?”

 

“Nope, I just felt like it.” Eliott shrugs his shoulders. 

 

Lucas eyes him mischievously, and boops Eliott’s nose. “Boop.”

 

Eliott giggles. “Did you just boop my nose?”

 

“Yup. Your nose is really boopable. Has no one ever told you that before?”

 

Eliott chuckles. “I don’t think so, no.”

 

“Well it is.”

 

“Noted.” Eliott’s eyes widen. “Guess what!”

 

“What?”

 

“Sofiane wants me to paint a mural on one of the walls upstairs, so it doesn’t look super dull for the people who go up there. Do you want to help me out?”

 

Lucas doesn’t think he’d ever skip out on a chance to spend time with Eliott and doesn’t hesitate to answer. “Sure, when do you want to do it?”

 

“Next Friday.”

 

“Count me in.”

 

Eliott smiles his sunshine smile and practically squeals. “This is going to be so much fun!”

 

Eliott crashes their lips together, and they stay like that, kissing, for a bit longer. When they pull away, it’s out of necessity; they’ve run out of breath. 

 

“Do you want to crash at my place?” Eliott asks. “We can sleep in my bed and have a Spider-Man movie marathon. And you can borrow my clothes, if you want.”

 

Lucas nods. “Let’s go then.” 

 

They stand up, and Lucas disconnects his phone from the aux cord and grabs his bag. He turns off the light from the studio as well. Then, the two make their way out of the studio, hand in hand. 

 

“Wait, which Spider-Man version are we watching?” Lucas asks as they make their way up the stairs.

 

“The Toby McGuire one, obviously.”

 

“Good, that’s my favorite.”

 

“Mine too.” Eliott comments. 

 

***

At Eliott’s flat, they have a blast, throwing popcorn at each other, watching Peter Parker wrestle, and be by each other’s side. 

 

It truly is a spectacular night; Lucas thinks every night he’s with Eliott it is, and always will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Feedback is appreciated.  
> You can check out my tumblr if you want, but I’m taking a little break from it at the moment. It’s @veron104


	10. but i’m a creep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, i told emma that i’d post this by wednesday, and technically where i live i accomplished that goal. so if you’re reading this emma, then i just wanna say hello💖
> 
> also, this chapter isn’t my best, i’m aware. i started school today and didn’t have much time, but i tried. and since i started school, i’m not sure how often i’ll update, but hopefully at least once a week.
> 
> but anyways, i hope y’all enjoy this

**Dimanche 23:33**

 

Lucas left Eliott’s flat hours ago, to go visit his mom at the clinic. It was their thing, Lucas said, to have lunch together every Sunday at 16:00. Eliott thought it was sweet, he wished he could have some kind of tradition like that with his parents. They usually showed up to his flat for dinner at least twice a month, but sometimes they’d appear unannounced. As much as he thought it was sweet, however, he didn’t want Lucas to leave. He had stayed over at Eliott’s since Friday, and the two enjoyed every single second of it. 

 

They had a Spider-Man movie marathon - the Toby McGuire version (obviously; no offense Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland), watched really shitty reality tv shows, played many rounds of Uno - with Lucas constantly cheating may Eliott add (but in Lu’s defense, he said it was strategy, not cheating, and that it wasn’t his fault Eliott got so distracted). They baked pain au chocolat too, well Lucas did; Eliott just watched from afar, scared to light something on fucking fire by accident. And they cuddled, and cuddled, and cuddled - something they both loved doing with the other. 

 

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend - one that was cut way too short in Eliott’s opinion. When Lucas had to go earlier today, Eliott blocked him from the door, in desperation, to have him stay longer. Then, he grabbed Lucas by the waist, carried him to his room and plopped him onto his bed, where they quickly became rather preoccupied in other activities (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), but nothing too extreme. By the time they finished, or really when Lucas separated their lips and deemed it necessary for him to leave, it was 15:30, and Eliott knew that he had to go. 

 

So, like any gentleman would, he walked Lucas to the door, attempted to school his expression, and said goodbye. Except, he did a terrible job at keeping his expression at bay, and had puppy dog eyes the entire time. Lucas smiled sadly when he noticed them and kissed him seven times - not that Eliott was counting or anything. But unfortunately, the time came, and Lucas exited Eliott’s apartment. And as dumb as it sounds, Eliott began to miss him as soon as he left. 

 

And it’s just _now_ , at 23:33 at night, that Eliott realizes he forgot something. He was having a hard time falling asleep, already getting used to having a warm body by his side to synchronize his breaths to, and he was just sinking into his thoughts. That’s when one stood out to him, causing him to open his eyes in shock. He didn’t tell Lucas about his bipolar disorder like he said to himself he would on Friday. _Shit_ , he thought, _how did I forget to tell him something so important?_  

 

In his defense though, he was having too much fun with Lucas for the thought to even pop up. And there wasn’t really a good moment for the conversation to happen; it would’ve just sounded really sudden, out of nowhere, and Eliott didn’t want that. He wanted to find the _right_ moment for him to tell Lucas about it, where it wouldn’t seem like it was something he wanted to get out of the way, if that makes sense. And also, he doesn’t think Lucas will have a problem with it, he doesn’t seem to Eliott like the type of person that would care whether or not you have a mental illness - doesn’t think that it defines a person. Then again, Eliott can’t be certain. Yes, his mother has an MI as well, but having schizophrenia is different than being bipolar. So again, Eliott can’t know for sure how Lucas will react. So even if he has a problem with it, at least Eliott can spend a bit more time with him before losing him, though that’s not what Eliott wants at all. 

 

And ever since his mind stopped on that specific thought, he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it and get out of the spiral, which resulted in Eliott getting very little sleep for school tomorrow. 

 

But one thing remains unchanged: he will tell Lucas about his being bipolar, and will do it soon; preferably before the end of the week. He doesn’t think he can keep something like that from Lucas for long. 

 

**Mardi 12:19**

 

If there was one thing Eliott couldn’t do, it was keeping a straight face while texting Lucas throughout the entirety of lunch. It was impossible for him to do so, yet he wasn’t annoyed by it as much as happy. They found out over the weekend that they called each other by the same name in their contacts (weirdo<3), and decided to use their nicknames instead, so it would be less confusing for them.

 

**Lu❤️**

_hello eli, how’s lunch treating you?_

 

**Eli <3**

_hey lu :) it’s treating me better now that i’m talking to you_

 

**Lu❤️**

_well someone’s being a straightforward romantic today_

_i like it ;)_

 

**Eli <3**

_*blushes*_

 

**Lu❤️**

_did you seriously just blush from reading my texts???_

 

**Eli <3**

_maybe…… i did?_

 

**Lu❤️**

_eli that’s…_

_so goddamn cute_

 

**Eli <3**

_and here we go again_

 

**Lu❤️**

_you’re adorable, did you know that?_

 

**Eli <3**

_well, i can’t say i haven’t been told that…_

_...it’s a very common compliment so you need to step up your game_

 

**Lu❤️**

_i need to step up my compliment game?? why, if i may ask?_

 

**Eli <3**

_you’re using all the boring and old ones lu. you need to be more original and unique_

_like me ;)_

 

**Lu❤️**

_geez, give me a break, i only started this thing on friday, so i haven’t been doing this for long_

 

**Eli <3**

_but you still need to step it up :)_

 

**Lu❤️**

_ugh_

 

**Eli <3**

_❤️❤️❤️_

 

**Lu❤️**

_okay...how about this: your smile can light up the entire solar system because it’s brighter than the sun_

_and…_

_your laughter is so pure and beautiful that it’s like a drug to me. i get high on it because it makes me feel alive._

_i love your laugh too; it makes your eyes light up and crinkle_

_and that’s gorgeous to me_

 

**Eli <3**

_eye-_

 

**Lu❤️**

**❤️❤️❤️**

_how’s that? better? because it’s true_

 

**Eli <3**

_again, eye-_

 

**Lu❤️**

_:)))))_

 

And once again Eliott is rendered speechless, thanks to Lucas. He looked up from his phone and searched for Lucas’ table, where he found him staring at Eliott in the eye, and Lucas fucking winked. Eliott was sure his cheeks were going to stay in a shade of vibrant red for the rest of his life. Lucas was just something else, wasn’t he?

 

“Dude, are you okay? You’re starting to look even redder than my apple.” Alex commented, holding up his red apple next to Eliott’s face to compare the two. 

 

“It’s probably just Lucas, isn’t it?” Sofiane assumed like it was nothing out of the ordinary. 

 

Eliott turned his head to face his two friends and sighed. “How’d you know?”

 

“Well, you snuck out with him at the party didn’t you?” Eliott nodded. “That’s what I thought. And you both skipped school, so you were with him again, correct?” Eliott nodded once more. “And I could hear you both chattering in the dance studio on Friday as well, so I’m just connecting the dots.”

 

“Wait, so are you two together or something?” Alex asked curiously. 

 

Eliott opened his mouth to respond, but realized that the two never talked about what they were. Were they casual? Were they an item? Eliott had no clue. 

 

“Um, I’m not sure, to be honest. We never had a conversation about that.” He replied. 

 

“Okay, well then you guys should talk about it.” Sofiane suggested. “But what do you want you guys to be, Eliott?”

 

Eliott took zero time to answer. “Well I want us to be exclusive, as a couple.”

 

“Then, when you guys talk about it, you should tell him that, even though I think he wants that too.” Sofiane said reassuringly. 

 

“You do? Think he wants that too, I mean?”

 

“Of course he does Eli!” Sofiane exclaimed. “Why wouldn’t he?”

 

Eliott was about to answer that question, when suddenly he felt his phone vibrate. And then it vibrated again. And again. And again. And again. 

 

He picked it up, wondering what kept notifying him constantly, and saw 5 messages from the boy who stole his heart. 

 

Lucas. 

 

Eliott smiled without even reading the texts, and Alex and Sofiane smirked knowingly. 

 

“It’s Lucas, right?” Alex questioned. 

 

Eliott nodded, and wasted no time in opening up the messaging app to check out what Lucas had written him, while the other two started talking about the latest football (or soccer) match that occurred. 

 

**Lu❤️**

_i’m guessing i made ya speechless again, am i right?_

 

_okay well, when you read this, i just wanted to know, and it’s okay to say no, if you want to go on a date with me??_

 

_please? it would make me the happiest person ever :)_

 

_i’m pretty patient, so just let me know when you can_

 

_okay, i take that back. i’m not that patient so please answer me as soon as you can! but take your time too!_

 

Eliott was sure his face would shatter like shards of glass if he smiled any wider. Lucas wanted to go on a fucking date with him! He wanted to go out with him! Eliott was freaking the fuck out and losing his shit internally, but managed to respond. 

 

**Eli <3**

_of course, i would love to_

 

_when though?_

 

**Lu❤️**

_i was thinking maybe on Thursday? if you’re not doing anything, that is_

 

**Eli <3**

_Thursday is perfect lu_

 

**Lu❤️**

_that’s good to hear :)_

 

_i will pick you up at 5 then_

 

**Eli <3 **

_5 is good_

_are you going to tell me where we are going? or what you’re planning?_

 

**Lu❤️**

_nope_

 

**Eli <3**

_and can i ask why_

_???_

 

**Lu❤️**

_because it’s a surprise, duh_

 

**Eli <3**

_so you can’t even hint me in a little bit?_

 

**Lu❤️**

_abso-fucking-lutely…_

_...not_

 

**Eli <3**

_:((_

_please?_

 

**Lu❤️**

_nooooo_

 

**Eli <3**

_pretty please?_

 

**Lu❤️**

_if i tell you, then you’ll paint the mural at the rec center by yourself on friday_

_so do you still want me to tell you?_

 

**Eli <3**

_………._

_……..i guess not_

 

**Lu❤️**

_i will tell you this though: you will love it_

 

**Eli <3**

_i can’t wait❤️_

 

**Lu❤️**

_❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️_

 

**Eli <3**

**❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️**

 

Eliott could’ve sworn that he almost died on the spot from pure euphoria. And by the looks on Sofiane and Alex’s faces, they thought so too.  

 

**Mercredi 12:52**

 

Eliott was getting out of his art class when he bumped into Sofiane and Imane in the hallway, holding hands and talking about their plans for after school.

 

“Hey, lovebirds, how's it going?” He asked the two. 

 

“It could be better. We had a pop quiz in biology, but at least I was prepared for it, unlike Lucas.” Imane mentioned, a look of sympathy on her face. 

 

“What happened with Lucas?” Eliott asked, concern beginning to wash over his face. 

 

“Well, I think his mind has been preoccupied with other things, and he’s getting even more distracted than usual lately. And since he missed part of the lesson Friday, the quiz seemed harder than it was. And let me tell you, it was difficult.” Imane responded. “But hey, I’m positive that he will make up for it on our upcoming exams, he’s pretty smart you know. Especially now that I’m his study buddy.” She added once she saw the look on Eliott’s face. 

 

“Okay, sorry.”

 

“Why are you sorry, Eliott? It’s okay to be worried over someone.” Imane acknowledged. 

 

“You’re right.” Eliott agreed. Imane almost always was, it was just another fact of life.

 

“So, how was your art class? Any new projects you’d like to tell us about?” Sofiane asked. 

 

Eliott smiled. He loved how genuinely interested Sofiane was with his life and vise versa. “We’re working on a sketch for a new project. It has to be made with charcoal pencil, so no color, and the theme for it is our biggest fear.”

 

“That sounds fascinating, Eli. Do you have any idea of what you’re going to make it about?”

 

“I have a couple of ideas, but I guess I’ll see which one draws me in the most.” Eliott said. 

 

“Aren’t you going to paint a mural on the wall of the rec center as well?” Imane butted in. 

 

“Yeah, Sofiane told me about it on Friday, and I’m all for it. It sounds like a lot of fun. I’m doing it this Friday with Lucas.”

 

Sofiane wiggled his eyebrows in a teasing manner, but the look in his eyes told Eliott that he was just messing around. 

 

“Do you know what approach or design you’re going for yet? That’s a big wall.” Imane said. 

 

“Not as of now, but I’m sure that something will pop into my head soon enough.” Eliott answered. “But where are you guys headed?”

 

“We’re going to a cafe nearby, since we both finished our classes for the day. Do you want to join?” Sofiane questioned. 

 

“I’m good, but thanks for asking. I have a shift at the rec center in an hour anyways.”

 

“Okay then. Bye Eliott!” Sofiane said as they began to walk away. Eliott waved at them a goodbye and pulled out his phone. He shot Lucas a quick message, asking if he was okay. 

 

**Eli <3**

_i just passed by imane and she said that you didn’t do good on your biology quiz. so i wanted to let you know that i know for a fact that you’ll do better next time._

**Lu❤️**

_thanks eli. you’re like my emotional support weirdo :)_

_i think my mind has just been a bit all over the place, if you know what i mean ;)_

**Eli <3**

_okay, well i hope i can help sort it out ;)_

_and i can’t wait for tomorrow ❤️_

**Lu❤️**

_me neither❤️_

 

**Mercredi 17:11**

 

Eliott finished his shift at the rec center awhile back, but he couldn’t find it in himself to leave and go home. Not when he could easily watch Lucas dance in the dance studio there. It’s an offer that Eliott could never resist. But he had to make sure he didn’t get caught. That is, Lucas had no idea he was watching him; he was too caught up in the world of dancing.

 

Today he could tell that Lucas was choreographing a new routine, judging by the way he wasn’t using any music and was stopping every once in a while to try to incorporate a new movement. Eliott had no idea what the skills were called, he wasn’t a dancer, but all he knew was that when Lucas did them, it encaptured him and reeled him in, making him mesmerized.

 

Eliott laughed silently when Lucas seemed satisfied with the combination he came up with. He went over to his phone and started playing some music. It was a song that Eliott knew and was a personal favorite of his. 

 

_We on a drive, looped in_

_Two seat ride, couped in_

_Who gon’ slide? Who’s in?_

_Big rocks ‘round, new tint_

_Fleetwood down, new sand_

_Two seat ride, couped in_

_Don’t leave ‘round loose ends_

_Don’t be around new friends, yeah_

 

It was incredible to say the least. _Mile High_ by James Blake was a great choice, Eliott had to admit. The skills that Lucas did flowed so flawlessly and effortlessly that Eliott had to do a double take to realize that he was doing hip hop. He couldn’t believe Lucas was that good and that he taught himself that. He could watch Lucas dance forever. 

 

**Mercredi 22:44**

 

After he watched Lucas secretly for god knows how long, Eliott left the rec center to come up with more sketches at home for his latest art project. It was about his biggest fear, and he had a pretty good idea of what it was. 

 

 _Being alone._  

 

The thought frightened him in more ways than one. He hated being alone, it was the worst feeling on earth to Eliott. 

 

But, as much as he hated talking about the fear itself and letting other people know it, he had to get the project done. So he sketched, and sketched, and sketched about what his fear of being alone looked like. Once he drew one that seemed like a good representation for what his fear was, he put it on his desk and called it quits for the night. The project wasn’t due for another two weeks, so Eliott had more than enough time to get everything else done. 

 

He went to the kitchen and opened up his fridge, looking for something to eat, even though it was a bit late. He found enough ingredients to make a sandwich, and went to work. He grabbed to slices of bread, putting cheese on each side. Next, he put some sliced chicken and ham in, and closed it up, and put his meal into the sandwich press. It didn’t take long for it to be toasted, and Eliott ate it while watching some Élite (#omander) on Netflix. 

 

When he finished his dinner and the episode of the show he was on, Eliott changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants - his makeshift pajamas - putting his work clothes - the same ones as his school clothes - into the hamper to wash them later. After that, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, wash his face, and moisturize it, getting ready for bed. 

 

Once he was ready to go to bed, he made it to his room and charged his phone before he’d forget to do so and be mad at himself for it the next day - it’s happened before. And before his head hit his pillow, he opened up his messages to Lucas to text him for the final time today. 

 

**Eli <3**

_goodnight weirdo, i hope you can get a decent sleep in_

**Lu❤️**

_thanks eli, i hope you sleep good too_

_goodnight weirdo❤️_

**Eli <3**

**❤️❤️❤️**

**Lu❤️**

❤️❤️❤️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so who’s ready for an Elu date next chapter? i know i am :)
> 
> feel free to let me know what you think, or if you caught any mistakes in this


	11. i’m a weirdo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> date time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know, I suck. I’m so sorry, truly. I’ve been busy and originally wanted to make this chapter longer, but I realized I’ve left you guys with nothing for too long. So I’m sorry.
> 
> In other news, it’s spooky season so yayyyy
> 
> And one of these parts of dialogue is inspired by me and my friend b, aka barb’s conversations with each other so....
> 
> Enjoy!

**Jeudi 16:07**

 

He was freaking out to say the least. Lucas was going to arrive at his flat in 53 minutes, and Eliott was still not fucking ready. How on earth was that possible? Usually, he just threw on some shit in his closet, not really caring how he looked, when he used to go on dates with Lucille. But now, when he was about to go on his first date with Lucas, he turned into a panicking mess. 

 

He was standing in his closet, one full of clothes mind you, and couldn’t figure out what to fucking wear. Why did he feel so fucking pathetic? It was like he was on one of those teenage TV shows where the girls couldn’t find anything to wear, even though they had a shit-ton of clothing in their closet. He was literally a thirteen year old girl at that point in time. He was very close to calling Sofiane and Alex so they could help him pick out an outfit. 

 

But, he wanted to keep his dignity intact, so Eliott decided against calling his friends. He looked around his closet on last time and groaned in frustration. God, he wanted to look good for Lucas, he really did, but he couldn’t pick out anything to wear. An idea popped into his head, and he sighed as he walked out of his closet. He went toward his bed, where his phone was, and picked it up. 

 

He went to his chat with Lucas. 

 

**Eli <3**

_ hey there, i was just wondering… _

 

**Lu❤️**

_ yes? _

 

**Eli <3**

_ what should i wear for our date? something like a tux, or a swimsuit even? _

 

**Lu❤️**

_ do you think we’re going swimming or something?  _

 

**Eli <3**

_ idk, you didn’t tell me where we’re going _

 

**Lu❤️**

_ because it’s a surprise. you’ll love it, trust me _

 

**Eli <3**

_ okay :) _

 

**Lu❤️**

_ :) and besides, i’m not one to take someone swimming on the first date, fyi  _

 

**Eli <3**

_ you still haven’t told me what i should wear though… _

 

**Lu❤️**

_ um, just wear something casual, nothing too fancy, so you don’t need a tux _

 

**Eli <3**

_ okay then, i’ll put my tux away _

 

**Lu❤️**

_ did you really have a tux laid out? _

 

**Eli <3**

_ ……… _

 

**Lu❤️**

_ weirdo...i can’t wait to see you _

 

**Eli <3**

_ me neither _

 

**Lu❤️**

**❤️**

 

**Eli <3**

**❤️**

 

Eliott put his phone back on his bed and went back on over to his closet, tux in hand, to put it away.  _ No need for that anymore. _

 

So, something casual then, he could do that. He found his favorite pair of jeans, the ones that were skinny and light-washed, and put them on. There was one part of his body ready, now. 

 

He looked over to where his shirts were and huffed a breath out of his nose. Pants were easy - there wasn’t a whole lot to think about, but shirts were a whole other story. There were so many more designs and details to be seen on them than pants, making it more difficult for Eliott to choose one. His eyes eventually stumbled upon one that was just light grey and short-sleeved, nothing more than that, and he decided to put that one on. It looked good on him, and it wasn’t too much or too little. 

 

Next was finding a jacket. He knew it was going to be a little bit chilly tonight, so he knew a jacket would be best to bring along. He was debating between three: his oversized caramel bomber jacket, his light blue denim jacket, or his almost black denim jacket. He liked all three of them, and all three looked fine with his outfit, but in the end he chose his black denim jacket. He didn’t really wear that one a whole bunch, but whenever he did, he loved it. 

 

By the time he was finished with picking out what to wear, it was 16:42, meaning that he had very little time to finish up. He went to the bathroom to fix his hair as best as he could. He ran his fingers through it with the tiniest bit of product, still wanting to keep its natural fluff there, and managed to make his hair look nice; it was natural, but not a complete mess. 

 

When he finished, he exited the bathroom, and put on a pair of white ankle-length socks. He almost tripped while doing it, though - putting on socks, standing, when not having the best balance, was definitely a safety hazard. He was almost done and only needed to put on his shoes before he was date-ready. 

 

Except he couldn’t find his shoes. 

 

He checked his closet, under his bed, by his dresser, by his desk. He checked the bathroom, the shower even, the living room, under the couch and chairs, but he couldn’t find them anywhere. How could he lose his shoes? What the actual fuck? Did they really just grow a pair of legs and leave his apartment during his closet crisis? Where the hell did they go?

 

He began to pace around his flat, cursing himself out in his head. How could he lose his shoes? Like how the hell could someone be such a dumbass and-

 

_ Ow! _

 

He tripped over something and almost fell right into the fridge. When he regained his balance and footing, he turned around to see what could have possibly tripped him. 

 

His shoes. Of course. 

 

_ When _ the fuck did they end up in his kitchen?  _ How _ the fuck did they end up in his kitchen?  _ Why _ did they end up in his kitchen? Eliott had no clue. He didn’t even remember taking them off there. Man, he really was a mess when it came to Lucas.

 

He put his shoes on, leaning against the counter, and as soon as he finished, the buzzer to his flat rang. It was Lucas. 

 

He quickly buzzed Lucas up, choosing to skip an awkward buzzer conversation that would’ve happened because Eliott sucked at talking through the intercom. 

 

He ran to his room one last time to grab his phone, keys, and wallet, and shoved them into his jacket and jean pockets. Then, he heard a knock. He came out of his room and went straight to the door, not wanting to make Lucas wait any longer than he has to. 

 

Lucas looked amazing, to say the very least. He was wearing a white shirt with the word ‘amour’ printed in red, and wore that with some navy blue skinny jeans. His hair was the usual mess it always was, and Eliott wondered then, just for a second, how he got so lucky. But that second was cut short. 

 

“Hey, you’re looking good,” Lucas said, smiling at Eliott as if they were the only people alive. “Are you sure you’re not breaking the law? Because I think how you look right now can be considered illegal.”

 

Eliott laughed. “Well, I can say the same thing about you, Lu.”

 

“Thanks. Are you ready? I have a long, fun date planned out ahead.”

 

“I’m ready, and I can’t wait.”

 

Eliott walked out of the flat, closing and locking the door before leaving the building. He followed Lucas, since he had no idea what was planned, and was excited for the events for the rest of the evening. 

 

**Jeudi 17:14**

 

The first stop was Lucas’ flat, apparently. 

 

Lucas led them up the stairs to the flat, making weird dance moves along the way. Eliott thought it was fitting for him, and couldn’t help but join Lucas in a weird shoulder shimmy. When they made it to the front door, Lucas unlocked and opened the it, letting Eliott enter first. He came in right after and closed the door. 

 

“Follow me,” he told Eliott as he made his way to the flat’s living room. 

 

When Eliott entered the space, he noticed two wii remotes out on the coffee table.

 

“Are we going to play some Mario Kart or something?” He asked Lucas. 

 

Lucas grinned. “Nope, it’s even better than Mario Kart.”

 

“I’m pretty sure that nothing is better than Mario Kart on wii, Lucas.” Eliott retorted. 

 

Lucas scoffed. “Okay, that’s a lie. What we’re about to play is way better than driving around Coconut Mall, thank you very much.”

 

“Sure…”. Eliott trailed off. Lucas rolled his eyes. 

 

“Eli, you don’t even know what it is yet. Can I tell you, please?”

 

“The floor is yours.” Eliott motioned for Lucas to tell him what was  _ so _ much better than Mario Kart on the wii. Eliott was fairly certain nothing could top it though, it was a classic. 

 

“Do the names of Helen, Elisa, Pierre, Tommy, Matt, Abby, and Eva ring any bells?” Lucas asked. 

 

Eliott shook his head no. “I’ve never heard of them.”

 

“Well, you’re in for a big treat today. How competitive are you?”

 

Eliott thought the question was a bit random, but answered it nonetheless. “Um, a fair amount, I’d say. Why?”

 

“Because,” Lucas began, “We’re going to play some Wii Sports!”

 

Uh oh. The memories came rolling back up in Eliott’s mind. 

 

“You don’t want to play that with me.” Eliott stated, his eyes finding the floor very interesting all of a sudden. 

 

“And why’s that?”

 

“I - it’s embarrassing.”

 

“I won’t make fun of you. I promise,” Lucas said. 

 

“It’s just that, um, the last time I played wii sports, i kind of, um, rage quit.”

 

“You rage quit?”

 

“Yup…” he trailed off, looking back up at Lucas. “And I might’ve also broken the TV with my wii remote…”

 

“What?” Lucas choked out. “How the fuck did you do that?”

 

“I uh, threw the remote because I was upset.”

 

“And you were upset because?” Lucas asked. 

 

“Because my baseball team fucking sucked ass!” Eliott all but screamed. 

 

Lucas laughed, his chest heaving up and down. “Well maybe mine isn’t as bad as yours. Your team probably got some clumsiness from you.”

 

“Hey!”

 

“I’m just kidding!” Lucas added in quickly. “But I promise you, it’ll be fun. Just don’t take it too seriously.”

 

“Okay,” Eliott agreed, because honestly, who could say no to such a cute face?

  
  


**Jeudi 17:07**

 

He probably should have said no. He was about to break a TV that wasn’t even his all because of a dumbass Mii who couldn’t catch a fucking baseball. How the hell did it fall out of a glove after they’ve caught it? 

 

Eliott was about to reach his limits on wii baseball. Every time that he and Lucas took turns, Eliott sucked. He could never swing on time, would always get outs, and could not stop getting frustrated. Lucas calmed him down though, and gave him good luck kisses that didn’t really work. They were cute nonetheless though, and Eliott kept asking for them every time it was his turn. All of this being said though, Eliott was kind of shocked - this was the best he’d ever played. 

 

On the other hand, Lucas was actually pretty good at it. He almost always hit the ball and his team could actually catch balls when they were in the outfield. When Eliott asked him how he was so good, Lucas told him that it was because the coloc™ always played whenever they were bored. And also because, and Eliott quotes, “Eli, your coordination skills aren’t the best.”

 

So when Lucas turned off the wii and tv and told Eliott that there were more plans on their date to accomplish, Eliott was glad to leave. Not that Eliott wasn’t having a good time - playing wii this time was actually fun. It was just that he was very close to breaking something because he was pretty sure the game was rigged to make him lose and it hated his guts. 

 

**Jeudi 19:02**

 

Eliott had no idea where they were. Lucas blindfolded him as soon as they entered the Uber. And when they hopped out Eliott tripped on the curb and almost fell face-first on the pavement. But that’s beside the point because Eliott still had no idea where Lucas was taking him. 

 

He figured Lucas would tell him at some point as to where the fuck the surprise was, but no. Lucas wanted to keep it as much of a secret as possible, hence the goddamn blindfold. Lucas even took it up a notch by walking behind Eliott with his hands on top of the blindfold even though there wasn’t a need to do that. But Eliott didn’t mind; he found it comforting.

 

Eliott had no idea as to how long they’d been walking for when Lucas told him to stop. 

 

“You can take the blindfold off now, we’re here.” Lucas said excitedly, peeling his hands off of Eliott’s face. 

 

Eliott’s heart began to race. Lucas brought him all the way to the secret location, and he was starting to feel giddy. He just  _ knew  _ he would love whatever Lucas had in store. 

 

He took off the blindfold slowly to add a bit of suspense; for Lucas and for himself too. The blindfold no longer covered his eyes, since he shoved it into his jean jacket pocket, and the light from the outside blinded him quite a bit, resulting in him squinting. Once his vision readjusted though, he saw what Lucas had brought him to. And was it beautiful. 

 

It was the local zoo. The zoo in which pretty fairy lights, that ranged and varied in color and size, were hung and turned on from 18:00 to 22:00 everyday. Eliott loved that part of the zoo even though he had never been - he’d seen pictures of it online though. He thought it just looked peaceful, warm, splendid, and lovely. And he knew that if he were an animal that lived in the zoo, he’d love it even more. It would’ve meant that he’d get to bask in their presence even more.

 

Now that he was at the zoo in person, he realized that the pictures could never compare to seeing the real thing right in front of his eyes. The pictures would never have been able to capture the magnificent luminescence the lights were emitting at that very moment in time. 

 

The fairy lights glowed and shone in ways that Eliott had never seen before. It was marvelous to behold. 

 

“So,” Lucas began, “do you like it? Because if you don’t, and that’s totally understandable, we can go somewhere else.”

 

_ Oh, right. I haven’t spoken yet. _

 

“Lucas, this is fucking gorgeous. I’ve never been here while the fairy lights were on.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really. Thank you for bringing me here. I love it.”

 

“You do?” Lucas asked, surprise and relief evident in his tone.

 

“Of course I do! I love animals, I love these lights, and” he turned towards Lucas, grabbing his hand, intertwining their fingers, “I love spending time with you.”

 

Lucas’ lips curved upwards. “I love spending time with you too, in case you haven’t figured that out.”

 

“Good, because I don’t spend my time playing wii sports with just anyone.” Eliott joked.

 

“Did you really hate it that much?”

 

“No, I’m just kidding. I think today was the most fun I’ve ever had playing that game.” Eliott answered honestly.

 

“Was it because I was there?”

 

“Maybe…” Eliott trailed off for the millionth time that day. ”But also because that’s the best I’ve ever done in that game and you didn’t make fun of me.”

 

“There’s nothing to make fun of about you. There is stuff to tease about though.”

 

“Rude!” Eliott exclaimed, unable to contain the giggles erupting from his stomach. Apparently Lucas couldn’t either. 

 

Once they regained their composure, Lucas raised his free hand to motion towards the zoo exhibits. “Shall we?” He asked.

 

“We shall.”

 

After they entered the zoo, the boys grabbed a map of the place to see where they should go to start off their adventure; the zoo had free admissions that day.

 

They ended up choosing to go to the aquatic exhibit first, which was where the seals, fish, and stingrays were located. Lucas made fish faces at the fish for no reason, and at one point he even had a staring contest with one of the clownfish. Eliott thought it was adorable and when Lucas wasn’t looking, he recorded a video of Lucas losing the staring contest, laughing throughout its entirety. When they visited the seals, the two were a bit astonished. They didn’t realize how fast they could swim - they assumed they were pretty slow but were proven wrong. Lucas took a few pictures of Eliott there, claiming that he thought the lighting was good and not just because he wanted pictures of Eliott on his camera roll. 

 

The zoo had a unique way to let the visitors see the stingrays. They had them in a large room and in the middle was a giant, water-filled pool, where they swam. There were no tanks or glass to keep them fully restricted from the visitors’ touch - and that’s how it was meant to be. Each person had the option to pay 2 euros to feed the stingray some food. And if they didn’t want to, they could still walk up to the edge of the pool, since the rim only went up to waist-length, and touch the stingrays. All in all, it was different than most zoos, but was most definitely worth it. 

 

So when Lucas and Eliott made their way to the stingrays, Lucas paid 4 euros for both of them to feed the stingrays. Eliott was beyond excited; he had never fed a stingray before, let alone see one in person. It was going to be a first time thing for him. Once they made it into the room, they made a beeline to the pool, standing at the edge. 

 

“Here,” Lucas said, as he handed Eliott some food for the stingrays. It was in a white paper disposable cup. 

 

“Thanks,” Eliott replied, grabbing some of the food from the cup and waiting for a stingray to approach them. And sure enough, one did. It came at the speed of lightning, probably seeing the food and wanting to have it before others could even move a millimeter. Eliott grinned, and lowered the food down into the water so that the little guy could eat it. Once the stingray took hold of the food Eliott gave it, Lucas touched its back. 

 

“Ah, it’s so slimy!” Lucas acknowledged, petting its back even more. “It’s cute though, but not as much as you.” he commented offhandedly, as if that sentence didn’t make the heat in Eliott’s cheeks rise.

 

“Stop that!” Eliott tried to deflect. “You can’t just say things like that out of nowhere. You just made me get all flustered.” he mumbled, thanking god that there was no one else feeding the stingrays at the time. 

 

Lucas chuckled at that and stopped petting the stingray to give it another piece of food. He stroked it once more. “Try it.” Lucas said. 

 

“To pet him?”

 

“No, to eat his food.” He paused and Eliott rolled his eyes even though there was no annoyance to be seen. “Of course I mean to pet him Eli! It’s not that bad. Try it.”

 

“I don’t know…” Even though Eliott was an avid animal lover, he wasn’t sure he was quite ready to pet a stingray just yet. Plus, he didn’t want to somehow hurt the poor thing unintentionally. 

 

“Try it!” Lucas encouraged. 

 

“But you just said that it was slimy!”

 

“So? I didn’t say that it was gross. And besides, there are sinks with soap and paper towels in the corner of this room.”

 

“But- ”

 

“No buts, just try it.” Lucas stated. “Please? For me?”

 

And he really couldn’t say no to Lucas, could he? 

 

“Okay, fine. But if something goes wrong, it’s on you.” 

 

“Deal. Okay, now give me your hand.” Eliott did as he was asked and gave Lucas his right hand. “Now we’re going to pet it together.” Soon enough, both of their hands were in the water, touching the stingray’s back, stroking it back and forth. “Can you feel how slimy it is?”

 

“Yeah, but it’s not bad.”

 

“See? I told you that it’d be fine.” Lucas said. 

 

“It’s actually kind of nice.” Eliott realized. 

 

“It is,” Lucas agreed. “Do you want me to let go of your hand now?”

 

“No.” Eliott responded quickly. “It’s nice too.”

 

Lucas shook his head, smiling. “Dork.”

 

“What did you call me?” 

 

“I said that you’re a dork.” Lucas restated. Suddenly, the stingray swam away and joined some of the others.

 

“Be careful with what you say, Lu.” Eliott warned. 

 

“Why?”

 

“Because you’ll never know what’s going to get you.” Eliott freed his hand from Lucas’ and splashed Lucas with some water. 

 

Lucas scoffed. “You did not just do that.”

 

“Only I did.” Eliott shrugged, feigning innocence.  

 

Before Eliott knew it, Lucas splashed him back with some water. 

 

And then it escalated. 

 

They both splashed the other until they were basically damp as ever. Once they calmed down though, they went to throw away the empty cups and washed their hands. They walked out of the aquatic exhibit and went on to continue their journey in the zoo. 

 

**Jeudi 20:39**

 

They went to all the other exhibits, except the snake ones because Lucas was terrified of them. He claimed to Eliott that snakes were the most evil things ever. Eliott didn’t really think that was true, since he thought that about pigeons, but he let Lucas go off on his rant because he wanted to hear everything Lucas had to say. 

 

They even went to the zoo’s mini restaurant to get some hot chocolate because it was getting to be quite chilly. And warm soothing drinks always seemed like a good idea in that type of weather. When they got their drinks they sat down on a bench by where the giraffes were, and had some weird little arguments. 

 

“Thank you, Lucas.”

 

“For what?” Lucas asked, curious. 

 

“Making my night amazing.” Eliott told him honestly. 

 

“You’re being too sweet.” Lucas said. 

 

“You’re the sweet one here! You brought me to the prettiest zoo ever and we’ve been having so much fun.” Eliott reasoned. 

 

“Well, I still think you’re sweeter.” Lucas challenged, his eyebrow cocked. 

 

“No I’m not.”

 

“Yes you are.” Lucas pushed. 

 

“Am not.”

 

“You definitely are.” He said. 

 

“You’re sweeter!” Eliott exclaimed. 

 

“No im not, Eli.” Lucas shook his head. 

 

“Yes you are!”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Look, I’m older so that means I get the final say. You’re sweeter and that’s that.” Eliott finalized. 

 

“Are you really using your age as an advantage? That’s low.” Lucas chuckled. 

 

“But it makes me right about this. Just admit it. You’re sweeter.” Eliott tried, his eyebrows raised. 

 

“Fine, but that just makes you perfect.” Lucas shrugged his shoulders. 

 

“But I’m not perfect.”

 

“Yes you are! I’m always right about everything so my word is final.” Lucas said as though he was a 5 year old child. 

 

“We’re not going to stop anytime soon, are we?” Eliott realized. 

 

“Probably not. But for now can we call it a tie?” Lucas held out his hand. 

 

“We can. A tie it is.” Eliott took Lucas’ hand and they shook on it. A tie it was. 

 

**Jeudi 21:52**

 

It was a blast. But unfortunately, the date had to come to an end at some point. 

 

They took a cab back to Eliott’s place, where Lucas dropped him off. Eliott really didn’t want Lucas to leave. They were having so much fun together and he just wished that time could slow down just for a little bit. 

 

“Are you sure you can’t stay any longer?” Eliott asked with puppy eyes.

 

“I’m sure, Eli. And unfortunately, you trying to kiss me, to stall me, won’t work again.”

 

“But it’s worked for the past 30 minutes. Why can’t it work again?”

 

“Because I really need to go. I’m supposed to help clean the kitchen tonight at the flat since Manon was baking a lot. And I’m already late because I was supposed to start like an hour ago. I don’t want to seem like even more of a bad flatmate.” Lucas explained. 

 

“But you’re not a bad flatmate. They won’t blame you for wanting to spend more quality time with me.” Eliott concluded. 

 

“And why not?”

 

“Because Mika loves me! And so does Manon!” Eliott exclaimed. 

 

“And Lisa?” Lucas tried. 

 

“Well, I don’t know, I haven’t met her yet.” Eliott admitted sheepishly. 

 

“So you’re not 100% sure, are you?” 

 

“Well, I’m like 98% sure?” Eliott said, but it didn’t end up sounding certain. 

 

“Why’d you phrase that as a question?” Lucas asked. 

 

“I’m not sure…” Eliott trailed off. “But really, you can’t stay for a little longer?”

 

“No. But hey, don’t look too down. We’re going to paint the mural at the rec center tomorrow so you’ll see me again soon.”

 

“Okay.” 

 

Lucas pulled Eliott into a hug for a few seconds before letting him go. He gave him a quick peck on his cheek. 

 

“I’m going to miss you, Eli. But I have to go. Bye.”

 

“Bye.”

 

And with that, Lucas left. Eliott missed him already. 

 

***

He wasn’t sure how long it had been since Lucas dropped him off, but he heard his phone ping with an incoming text message. He opened his phone and smiled instantly. 

 

**Lu❤️**

_ i miss you like crazy _

 

Eliott typed out a response. 

 

**Eli <3**

_ me too :( _

_ but i can’t wait for tomorrow, it’s going to be fun _

 

**Lu❤️**

_ i can’t wait for tomorrow either :) _

_ good night eli, i hope you sleep well _

 

**Eli <3 **

_ i hope you can sleep well too _

_ good night lu<3 _

 

**Lu❤️**

_ <333 _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: there’s a boardwalk I love going to & that’s where the entire stingray section is based off of. I have videos of me and my friends being splashed when they go crazy and it’s a fun time. 
> 
> again, I’m sorry for the wait, but I’ve been extremely busy. I’ll try to update way faster. 
> 
> I hope every has been having a good day though, and I hope you liked this chapter🖤

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback and kudos and comments are appreciated, Comments help me know how to continue on with this au so please comment. Check out my tumblr if you want.
> 
>  [my tumblr](https://veron104.tumblr.com/)


End file.
